Blood Series Short Stories
by FlyingBlueJay
Summary: Collection of short stories of Alex Swan and Jacob Black. What happens between the Blood Stories? And what happens after? Starts after Blood Bonds when Alex returns to Forks.
1. Paint BB BR

**This little story happens shortly after Alex Swan returns to Forks with Charlie and Jacob, so shortly after **_**Blood Bonds**_** ends.**

**Chapter 01: Paint _(Blood Bonds - Blood Rage)_**

Humming along to the tune of the song on the car radio, Jacob accelerated just a little bit. He kept at a fairly moderate speed as the rain drizzled down onto the road – moderate for a werewolf, anyway. He supposed it had its advantages to count the Chief of Police to his close friends. Most cops in town turned a blind eye when Jacob sped by a few miles above the speed limit. It was somewhat ironic considering Charlie Swan would be the first one to kick Jacob's ass into next week if he caught him speeding.

"Finally, what took you so damn long?" Alex Swan huffed, jumping up from her sitting position on the top porch step as he pulled up the driveway and got out of his Rabbit. The corner of her mouth twitched and Jacob blushed slightly as he remembered the time Alex had told him that seeing him get out of that car reminded her of a clown car in a circus.

It was his own fault she'd told him. She'd been waiting by his house when he'd pulled up with Quil riding shotgun and Embry in the back. All three of them had gotten out and she'd burst into tears of laughter. He'd spent the next half an hour tickling the reason for her laughter out of her.

"You called me twenty-five minutes ago," he reminded her. "I'm over-punctual." Alex snorted. "Sorry we can't all drive like you, Miss-Fast-And-The-Furious," he added, crossing his arms in front of his chest in mock agitation. Alex didn't much bother paying attention to speed limitations. Seventeen years on the streets of Detroit's ghettos had given her something like a cop-radar. If one was close by, she instinctively knew and slowed down.

"Well, chop-chop, Mister, we've got work to do," Alex replied, turning on her heel and marching into the house. Jacob shook his head, smiling after her. Life with Alex was never boring. He could never quite anticipate her next move.

Following her into the house and up into her room, which had once been Bella's, he saw that she'd already moved all the furniture into the center of the room and covered it with a transparent tarp. She'd also already taped off the light switches, power outlets, window frames and baseboards.

"Charlie helped this morning," she answered his unspoken question. "I was just about to cover the floor," she added, holding up a role of masking paper.

As she began to fasten the paper with more tape in one corner of the room, Jacob took the time to take a last good look at the light blue color he'd grown accustomed to. Alex hated it and he had to admit that the blue gave the room a cold edge. Still, it had been _her_ room, _her_ wall color and slowly all the reminders of her seemed to disappear.

Only two weeks ago, Alex had gotten new furniture at Ikea: A desk, chest, and nightstand – all in a medium brown (he envied her for the queen-sized bed that would arrive the following week along with the wardrobe). She'd thrown out all of Bella's old furniture, all but the rocking chair.

"Are you alright?" He snapped out of his trance and looked at Alex, who stared back with a worried expression. He opened his mouth to reply then closed it, not knowing what to say. "I won't do it if you can't take it. I can always paint it over some time later."

"No, it's fine," Jacob said. "Really," he added when she continued to look skeptical. And he realized it truly was. The reminders of Bella weren't the only thing slowly disappearing. The ache in his chest, that had once been the size of the Eurasian continent, was slowly healing. It didn't hurt anymore when he thought of her – or at least not every time.

"Okay, if you're sure," Alex said, finishing taping down the corners of the brown paper roll. "Then move your ass over here and be useful for a change, Black."

Laughing he walked over and helped her unroll the masking paper, cutting it on the other end of the room and securing it there, before starting the next strip. While being exceedingly tedious work, covering the floor was not difficult.

"Alright then, let's get to the fun part," Alex said, walking over to the buckets of paint and the brushes. She had two large buckets of white primer. She had another large bucket with a light cream color and a smaller bucket with a dark brown. The cream color would come on top of the primer and she intended to use the dark brown to make a wall painting. What she had in mind Jacob didn't know and she refused to tell him.

Each grabbing a brush and a bucket of primer, they went to separate sides of the room to begin. Due to his size Jacob had been assigned to paint the ceiling. He hadn't thought much of it, but within a few minutes he regretted his height. As he rolled the paint onto the surface above, tiny splatters kept hitting his face and soon he had a certain resemblance with the connect-the-dots pictures Claire loved drawing.

Alex looked over at him and began laughing, getting up and coming over to him. "You look like a Dalmatian, Jake," she said, still chuckling. With her finger she swiped at a particularly large spatter on the tip of his nose, spreading the white color further.

"Oh yeah?" In a burst of childishness, he smeared his paint brush over her face, leaving white stains on her forehead, nose and chin.

She gasped and stared at him incredulously. But Alex wasn't the sort of girl to take that lying down. With reflexes far faster than he'd anticipated she'd taken a swipe at his bare chest with her brush, leaving a white stripe diagonally from his right shoulder over his left pecs, smirking at him satisfied.

Before they knew it, paint was practically flying through the air and they were both covered in it head to toe, laughing so hard they could barely stand.

"Look at us, behaving like children," Alex said, lifting her arms to inspect the damage. Her black shirt was stained white, so were her arms and her hair. Jacob barely looked better.

"I have to hand it to you, you can put up a pretty good fight for a human," he said and her eyes flashed in his direction.

"Don't give me a reason to take my revenge," she warned, smiling wickedly, her eyes blazing with something that could put fear even in the hearts of the bravest men.

Jacob laughed again, looking around the room. Thank God everything had been covered. There were just a few spots of paint on the window and the door, but they could wash that off with warm water. "Guess, we might as well finish now before we hit the shower," he said. It would take ages for all the color to come out of their hair and their clothes were already doomed.

Finishing with the primer they had to wait until the next day anyway before they could start applying the cream color. Alex went to clean herself up first. She'd put a bag with all the essentials, including fresh clothes, into the bathroom. She'd have to sleep on the couch until they were done.

Jacob looked around again at the now stark white walls. There was nothing that would have betrayed the original color. Now there was nothing left that would remind him of what the room had looked like when Bella had still lived here. She was really gone now.

"Okay, I'm done," Alex said, coming into the room, still drying her hair with a towel. It still had white in it. "You can go now if you want." She stopped rubbing at the strands of curls falling over her shoulder when she caught his expression. He wasn't entirely certain what she saw on his face, but it made her eyes glaze over with that silvery sheen she always got when she was either sad or angry. Or, as it was in this case, commiserating. "I'm sorry, Jake, I really am."

"What for?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but his chest was aching again and he could barely breathe.

"For not being able to keep the pain away," she said straight out. That was something else he liked about Alex, she told him the truth – straight out, no beating around the bush.

"It's like everyday a little more of her vanishes. I know I shouldn't hold on, but…" he didn't know how to put in words what he felt, but he obviously didn't have to. Alex gave him an understanding nod.

"Well, you know what they say," she said, putting an arm around his back, leaning her head against his upper arm. "Time wounds all heels."

Jacob had to laugh at that, grateful that she could pull him out of his misery. "Now go take a shower. I'll be downstairs, making some sandwiches." With that she left the room.

The following weekend when Jacob finally found time to drop by again, before he had to go on patrol, Alex showed him her finished room. The colors were all warm and inviting and the bed looked damn comfortable, using up most of the space. There was a homey touch to the room that hadn't been there before.

Jacob's eyes travelled to the wall painting Alex had finished above the bed in one of the upper corners. It started in a tribal style with swirls that formed into vines with large leaves and small flowers. There were three hummingbirds, two small ones, close to the vines and one, larger than the others, slightly farther down. It looked classy and artistic, not at all girly despite the flowers.

"Wow, Alex, that's beautiful," he said, knowing she'd designed and drawn it herself. She could draw well, just not humans, he knew that.

"Thank you," she said, sounding slightly nervous. For a moment he didn't know why she'd be worried until he remembered how he'd reacted to the changes the previous weekend. The change was even more prominent now. Even though Alex had kept the rocking chair, Bella's touch was completely erased from the room.

He looked around again, soaking up the details of this new room. Surprisingly, he found he liked it more now. Bella might be gone, but while she was disappearing bit by bit daily, Alex began to replace her, filling what would have otherwise been a void. And while Alex was completely different from Bella, she was by no means less.

"I really love it," he finally said, smiling at her. She returned the smile wholeheartedly, her face lighting up with relief.

Bella was gone. But she didn't leave an empty space…


	2. Lessons BB Br

**This story takes place a few weeks after Alex moves back to Forks. After **_**Blood Bonds**_**.**

**Chapter 02: Lessons **_**(Blood Bonds – Blood Rage)**_

Alex shifted her weight from one foot to the other as the dance instructor talked. She didn't really listen to him. Though she didn't know all that much about dancing, never having had the time to learn it, she was pretty sure that it usually involved a lot less talk.

She glanced over at the boys who all looked nervous and completely out of place. It was only for Emily that they would do this. She'd wanted them all to dance at her wedding and since none of them could dance they were all taking lessons now. They had all brought their imprints, except Quil, for obvious reasons. Emily had asked him to dance with a friend of hers who'd be coming down from the Makah Reservation. And Embry was going to dance with Gillian. She looked even more out of place in her Goth clothes.

They were supposed to do the waltz again today, so they all paired up and spread over the room.

"Have you ever danced before?" Alex asked Jacob quietly as they took their position. She stood a little offset from him, putting her right hand in his left and her right hand on his left upper arm while his right arm came up to her shoulder blade. Not for the first time Alex was glad she was as tall as she was. At five foot ten she stood a good height next to Jacob. Unlike Gillian who was barely five foot four and who looked a little awkward with her freakishly tall dance partner.

"Twice," he said, wincing at the memory. She didn't have to ask with whom. "Though, in all honesty, the word dancing might not be the best way to describe it."

"I've never danced before," she admitted. She felt nervous, though not entirely just because of the dancing. It was more because she was dancing with Jacob. They weren't touching, but he was holding her close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off of him.

"Pay attention to the rhythm," the instructor said as he turned on the music.

Alex and Jacob moved forward at the same time and consequently ran into each other.

"Sorry," Alex mumbled.

"I get to lead, remember? Ballroom dancing has a very archaic – and very false – perception of women," he said with a grin.

"Alright, let's try again."

This time Alex let Jacob take the lead, moving backwards with her right foot. As they moved she admitted that she liked this. Alex had always been in charge of her life, always in control and she wanted it no other way, but it was nice to let go for just a while and let Jacob guide her.

"So what about you? You think you'll ever get married and force your friends to take dance lessons?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know. I prefer to live in the moment. I don't want my life to become a timeline of important events to be ticked off. You've known someone long enough and marriage is the thing that happens next. So it's happening."

"I don't see what's so bad about that. It's good to make plans for the future," Jacob argued.

"Yeah, if you have no interest in wherever else life can take you. Just put those blinders on and stare at the road, forget about the possibility of a detour that can take you to some really amazing, unexpected destination."

"Does that mean you can't see yourself ever getting married?" Jacob asked.

"Who knows? I mean, if it happens, it happens. I'm certainly not going to stress about it now. Besides, some detours can be found together." She smiled at him then looked over at Sam and Emily. They'd completely drowned out everything around them, dancing close to a tune only playing in their heads. And some detours could _only_ be found together.

"Even if my future partner and I had a plan, I'd probably change it. Just to keep things interesting," she said, grinning at Jacob. Smiling, he spun her around, skillfully pulling her back into their original position. He was a damn quick learner and graceful due to his wolf genes.

"Mr. Black, the hand stays on the shoulder blade," the instructor said with a grin in passing. Alex and Jacob both looked up in surprise. For a moment they'd been alone in the room. Then both had to laugh quietly. Alex hadn't even noticed that Jacob's hand had dropped to her waist.

"Hand stays on shoulder, gotta remember that," Jacob said with a small nod to himself, still grinning.

"Only for the lessons. I actually find it more comfortable if I don't have to hold up my arm at a ninety-degree angle." And she couldn't really say that she minded his hand on other parts of her body.

"Good, so do I." It took her a moment to get her head out of the gutter again and remember he meant the position of their arms while dancing and not his hands all over her body. Keeping her feelings for him a secret was getting harder and harder.

A strangled sound escaped her throat.

"What was that?" Jacob asked, frowning down at her.

"Nothing, just getting a little dizzy from all the spinning," Alex lied. Jacob immediately changed the direction of their turns. One could think he'd danced his whole life, not that it was just his fifth lesson.

"Better?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said, smiling. He really was the sweetest.

"I honestly don't know how you and Jake do it; to look so good dancing together," Gillian said when they had their ten minute break. They'd left the dance room to get a drink. "No, actually I do." She corrected herself. "If it comes to any sort of physical exercise you always ace it and Jacob's a werewolf. Not to mention the chemistry between you."

"You do fine with Embry," Alex replied, not entirely willing to talk about what was going on between Jacob and her right now. Gillian knew, of course. Apparently so did almost everyone else. At least the women.

"Yeah, but when it comes to dancing, Embry and I are obviously not made for each other. He's too tall, I'm too short. And I don't really like dancing all that much," Gillian said.

"I do, actually." It was coordinated movement, like parkour or Gymnastics. And that was something Alex had always liked. As a kid she'd wanted to be a Gymnast, but like dancing, she'd never had the time or money for it. Parkour had been something she'd been able to, more or less, teach herself, with some directions from a few boys in her neighborhood, who'd actually been the ones who'd captured her attention for parkour in the first place.

"Yeah, you can be all up-close and personal with Jake," Gillian teased.

"That, too," she admitted…


	3. Dancing BB BR

**Emily and Sam's wedding day. Takes place in July after **_**Blood Bonds**_**.**

**Chapter 03: Dancing _(Blood Bonds - Blood Rage)_**

"Come on, Charlie!" Alex yelled up the stairs, "or we'll be late." She could hear Charlie cursing in his room and made a mental note for the next time he told her to watch her mouth in his house. Nothing like blackmail!

He came down the stairs, still fumbling with his tie. "I don't know why these are necessary," he muttered.

"It's a wedding," she reminded him, swatting his hands out of the way and tying his tie for him. "There."

"Thank you," he replied, checking the knot in the mirror by the front door.

"Okay, let's go, shall we?" She opened the door and rushed out.

They drove past the Community Hall in La Push, where the reception would be held later, and stopped in front of the tiny church. Most of the guests were already there, seated and talking with each other.

They found Billy in one of the front rows and sat down beside him. Alex looked up at Jacob who stood by the altar next to Sam as his best man, next to him Paul and Jared. Her jaw nearly dropped. She loved it when he wore nothing but his cut-off jeans – and if it were up to her, he might as well leave those off, too – but, _damn_, that boy could clean up! He was wearing a black suit and a light silvery-blue tie and looked absolutely hot.

Alex looked over at the row on the other side at some girls from the Makah Reservation that Emily had invited. They were giggling, pointing and staring at Jacob, fanning their faces for effect. Alex wasn't sure if she should be amused or furious. Having no claim on Jacob of any kind, she supposed the more appropriate reaction should be amused, but that boiling anger in the pit of her stomach was a stubborn thing.

Jacob turned to her, grinning and winking at her, before returning to his whispered conversation with Sam. Alex looked over at the giggling girls again, who'd stopped giggling and glared at her. She settled back against the hard back of the bench, completely satisfied.

Just then music started playing and Emily slowly came into the room, looking gorgeous in her wedding dress and grinning broadly. She looked so happy in that moment that it made no difference that one side of her face was immobile. Even the eternal frown etched on her right side looked radiant.

Alex stole a glance back at Sam, who seemed to be practically glowing as he watched Emily walk towards him. Alex had no doubt that these two would remain together forever. With or without imprint. She also saw Paul winking at Rachel, who sat to Billy's other side and flushed bright red, but smiled none the less. How long would it be before they got married?

The wedding was beautiful and once the couple had said their '_I do_'s, the guests filed out of the church and drove over to the Community Hall.

It was beautifully decorated on the inside. The tables were covered in white tablecloths and white flower arrangements in the centers and white candles.

* * *

><p>Jacob arrived with the bride and groom and the other groomsmen and bridesmaids a little earlier than the rest of the guests, making sure everything was running smoothly. There'd been some trouble with the dessert, but Leah was handling it. She just came back, nodding an all-clear when the first guests arrived. "Remind me never to get married," she whispered to Jacob, while smiling at the guests.<p>

He chuckled and led Emily's ancient aunt to her seat.

About half an hour later, when everyone was seated, he was close to just lying down on the floor, spread-eagled, and take a nap.

He'd had his ass pinched, rubbed and ogled. What _was_ it with women and the male behind? Elderly women in particular. Someone ought to do a study on that.

"Having a hard time?" He heard Alex's voice from behind him and he spun around, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. He'd already noticed that she was looking nice in the church, but he'd barely been able to see more than her face in the crowd. She'd pulled her hair together in a thick knot at the base of her neck. A few strands had loosened and were falling in her face. Usually Alex didn't wear makeup, but for the occasion she'd put on some mascara to accentuate her thick, very long lashes and some eyeliner. Her lips were still their natural rosy color which he preferred to lipstick.

She wore a red, halter-style dress that fit snugly around her upper body. The skirt fell freely around her knees. It was simple and beautiful in that simplicity. Alex was beautiful.

"Wow, you look… wow," was all he could say. He wanted to smack himself.

She chuckled. "Thank you. You look quite wow yourself."

"Yeah, Emily nearly broke into tears because we thought we'd never find suits in our sizes," Jacob said, smiling. "Listen Alex," he didn't know what came over him, but he couldn't stop himself. Didn't want to. "Can I reserve the first dance with you?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, sure. Who else would there be?" He just smiled, deciding to keep that to himself before she changed her mind. The truth was that he was hardly the only one in the room who'd noticed the very nice cleavage the dress made. He could look at the room and see at least ten boys at a time watching Alex with interest. She really did look gorgeous tonight.

"I'll see you then, now I have to make sure everyone's settled," he said. He didn't like letting her stand there alone, but he had a job to do as best man.

"Later, then," she replied and went back to Charlie and Billy.

* * *

><p>After the food had been eaten and the speeches made, the music started playing and Sam led Emily onto the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple. It was a slow waltz, a song Alex had never heard before. Then again, she'd hardly expected Sam and Emily to play Nickelback, Coldplay or OneRepublic at their wedding.<p>

A few other couples joined the bride and groom. "Alex?" she looked up to find Jacob standing next to her, his hand held out for her to take. She gave him hers and he pulled her to her feet easily, leading her to the dance floor.

"Everyone's going to be watching," she whispered.

"So?" With that he took her hand in his and placed his other hand on her waist. She had to smile at that. She put her free hand on his upper arm and he began leading her across the dance floor.

She kept repeating the beat in her head; one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three.

Looking up she found Jacob smiling down at her. She was instantly captured by his eyes. She felt like she was drowning in those dark pools and before she knew it the room beyond the two of them didn't exist anymore. It was just the two of them. Dancing. And she couldn't, for the life of her, think of anything that had ever felt so right in her life.

The song changed. It was no longer a waltz, but still slow. They turned to the tune that Alex actually did know. Chantal Kreviazuk's _Feels Like Home_.

Alex had never been one to believe in fate, but at that moment the song just fit too well to be coincidence.

_Something in your eyes _

_Makes me wanna lose myself _

_Makes me wanna lose myself _

_In your arms _

_There's something in your voice _

_Makes my heart beat fast _

_Hope this feeling lasts _

_The rest of my life _

_If you knew how lonely my life has been _

_And how long I've been so alone _

_If you knew how I wanted someone to come along _

_And change my life the way you've done _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong _

_A window breaks down a long dark street _

_And a siren wails in the night _

_But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me _

_And I can almost see through the dark there is light _

_If you knew how much this moment means to me _

_And how long I've waited for your touch _

_If you knew how happy you are making me _

_I've never thought that I'd love anyone so much _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like home to me _

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong_

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong_

Alex could barely breathe when the song finished and the world around her returned. She was still looking into Jacob's eyes and there was a softness in them she'd never seen there before.

"Another?" he just asked and she nodded, not quite capable of speech yet. He smoothly readjusted their position before the next song played.

She really did feel home in Jacob's arms. She felt like she belonged there. And she wanted to belong there so badly. It wasn't just a crush anymore, she realized. This was true, honest to God, head over heels _love_. She'd never felt like this before in her entire life. Not with any of her previous boyfriends. It was beautiful and scary at the same time and Alex knew she'd do anything for Jacob to return those feelings…


	4. Penguins BB BR

**This takes place after **_**Blood Bonds**_**. Just before **_**Blood Rage**_**.**

**Chapter 04: Penguins **_**(Blood Bonds – Blood Rage)**_

Jacob and Alex were sitting on the couch in Alex's living room. It was snowing outside and Jacob had lit the fireplace. It wasn't really necessary. With him so close Alex would have a hard time to be cold, but she liked it anyway. It made a nice atmosphere and she'd always liked the idea of sitting in front of a fireplace while it snowed outside and she had nowhere she needed to go.

"_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_," she sang. Jacob grinned at her.

"You really like the snow, don't you?"

"I love it," Alex answered. "As long as I don't have to walk through it. It just looks so beautiful. I think winter is the most romantic season." She was smiling broadly at him, feeling completely at peace with the world at that moment. She had the snow, she had the fireplace and she had Jacob. The fact that he didn't know how she felt about him was currently negligible. "With Christmas coming up, the world all in white and all the lights up."

"Maybe you should move to Alaska," Jacob said, still grinning. Alex was lying with her head on the armrest of the couch and Jacob had pulled her legs over his lap. She could feel the heat of his hand on her knee through the fabric of her jeans.

"Maybe," she said with a nod. "But I'd move south again eventually. As much as I love the winter, I also like the other seasons. I like the changes they bring. Maybe one day I'll move somewhere where it's either always cold or always warm, but I think I'd always come back to the temperate climate zone."

"Me, too," Jacob said, rubbing her knee a little. The simple gesture shot a bolt of electricity through her body. She did her best to ignore it.

"What else do you like? Favorite food? I mean, you eat just about everything, but is there something you like in particular?" Alex asked, reaching out for the hand that wasn't on her knee, playing with his fingers.

"Spaghetti bolognaise, the way my Mom made them," he answered.

"I like spaghetti, too," she admitted. They were easy and quick to make and tasted good. "What's your favorite animal?"

"Wolf, of course," he answered.

"Mine's the penguin." He seemed surprised by that.

"A penguin?"

"I've been to the zoo once when I was a kid. It was with the class. And there I saw a penguin standing on a rock," Alex explained. "And I thought; what a poor creature. Wings are too small, diminutive physique and doesn't even really have legs. All around a bad design.

"Then, right before my eyes, it jumped in the water and began to swim and I don't think I've ever been so astounded. Penguins are incredible swimmers. They are so perfectly adapted to be fast and agile in the water that they can swim 1250 miles with the energy from not quite a third of a gallon of gasoline. That's better than anything humans have ever built. And here I was thinking _bad design_.

"The penguin reminds me of two things; one, how fast I can pass judgment and how far I can be off the mark, particularly if I've seen a person in only one circumstance. And two, how important it actually is that the circumstances be right so that your skills can really be revealed.

"People don't change entirely and fundamentally. If you're born a penguin, even seven years of extensive therapy won't turn you into a giraffe." Jacob chuckled at that. "And a good therapist – there happen to be some – won't waste much time talking about why you would rather have such a long neck and how that is related to your childhood and the loss of the grandfather. He'll ask: '_Who are you? What can you do? What do you want? What are your strengths?_' To strengthen strengths is so much more sensible than meddling with weaknesses. And if you think you have to be like others, there's a little consolation; others exist in abundance.

"All that is asked of us, is to know ourselves and to see if we're in the right circumstances. And if I am a penguin and I'm in the desert, then it's not my fault if things don't run smoothly. All I have to do is take little steps to my water and jump in. And then I'll know what it feels like to be in my element. And when I'm in my element I use more of my strengths and my weaknesses carry less weight."

She looked up again to see Jacob staring at the fire thoughtfully.

"What's on your mind?" she asked and he turned his head to look at Alex again, smiling at her.

"You once said that you keep underestimating me," he said.

"And you said that you can continue to surprise me that way," Alex replied, smiling back at him. She liked the way the firelight gleamed on his skin, giving it a bronze sheen.

"Well, I keep underestimating you, too."

Alex chuckled at that. "Good. I'd hate to be all figured out while parts of you are still a mystery to me." She sat up, now very close to Jacob. "I passed judgment on you the day I first saw you. I thought you were a killer. And I was wrong about that," she said quietly, looking into his eyes, her hand combing through his hair. She loved the feeling of running her fingers through it.

"Thank God I had a chance to prove you wrong," he said, grinning.

Alex grinned back. "Yeah. Thank God."

* * *

><p><strong>This was originally supposed to be Alex's valedictorian speech. But I realized she's not the valedictorian type. I didn't have the heart to just delete it though, so I just built in this chapter. It's for all those of you out there, who have yet to find their water. And don't forget that sometimes the way there is a little rocky. That makes it so much better when you finally reach your goal.<strong>

**Next up is the first chapter of _Blood Rage_.**


	5. Sick BR BG

**This story takes place a month or so after **_**Blood Rage**_**.**

**Chapter 05: Sick _(Blood Rage – Blood Guilt)_**

Jacob sighed when he entered the Swan house and was greeted by a bout of coughing. With a roll of his eyes he made his way to the living room and found Alex lying on the couch in front of the television, huddled in a blanket.

"Hey, honey," he greeted her, bending over and kissing her on the forehead. He didn't even need a thermometer to know that she had a temperature. "Were you sleeping?"

"No," she replied a little snappish. "Just lying down for a bit."

"What's the matter? You sick?"

"I'm not sick. I'm just a bit tired," she said in an annoyed voice. Alex was not an easy sick person. Well, she was once she finally admitted that she _was_ sick.

"Why can you never admit when you're sick?" Jacob asked, feeling her forehead with his hand, coming to the same conclusion.

"I'm not sick! I'm just lying down!"

"You're grumpy, like you always are when you're sick," Jacob replied, grinning.

"I'm not grumpy and I'm _not_ sick."

"Then what are you?"

"_Lying down!_" she growled.

Jacob shook his head and grabbed the empty coffee mug she had standing in front of her on the table. Just then Charlie came home.

"Hey, Jake. How was…?" Charlie looked at Alex on the couch, frowning. "You're lying down."

"Right," Alex said, almost triumphant that someone was getting it.

"Are you sick?" Charlie asked. The only reply was an agitated groan. "Grumpy," Charlie said with a knowing nod towards Jacob.

"Sick," Jacob agreed, taking the cup into the kitchen and starting the water heater, grabbing some peppermint teabags out of the cabinet above him.

"Maybe some soup, too," Charlie suggested when he came into the kitchen after Jacob.

"You can do that," Jacob replied. "I'm already risking my neck with this tea, I do not want soup thrown in my face."

"Oh, she wouldn't throw it," Charlie said, laughing. "She'd just have to clean that up, but she might try drowning you in it."

"I'm glad the thought amuses you," Jacob replied dryly.

"Ah, come now," Charlie chuckled, clapping Jacob on the shoulder. "You're a big, strong werewolf. You can handle a girl, can't you?"

"Sure," Jacob responded, pouring the hot water into the mug. "A girl I can handle, Alex is a different matter entirely."

Charlie laughed again. "She _is_ a handful. You'll never get bored with her, that's for sure."

Jacob smiled. He didn't want to get bored with her. Every day was like a new adventure with Alex. She was always willing to try something new or go somewhere they've never been to.

He brought the tea back to the couch and set it in front of Alex, who frowned at the steaming mug.

"Just thought you might like some," Jacob said with a shrug.

"Thanks, I guess," she said, still looking a bit suspicious. Alex wasn't a fan of tea, preferring coffee. She sat up and let Jacob settle down on the couch before lying down again with her head in his lap.

"Sure you're okay?" Jacob tried again, his fingers combing through her hair.

"Uh-huh," was her only reply, her eyes closed.

Jacob leaned back against the couch and watched the television program more or less attentively. Alex had flipped it to Discovery Channel and there was some kind of documentary about China in the early twentieth century and the fall of the monarchy running until Charlie switched to a sports channel. Jacob's attention rested with Alex, discreetly monitoring her breathing, heart rate and temperature. Every now and again she began coughing, saying it was nothing big.

Sometime between six and seven o'clock in the evening her temperature rose a little higher and he could tell she was feeling worse. Illnesses always felt worse in the evenings so he wasn't worried. Alex, however, still refused to accept she was sick. She didn't like admitting to a weakness, he knew that.

"I'll be going to bed," Charlie said a few hours later. "Good night, you two."

"Night, Charlie," Jacob replied.

Alex just mumbled something incoherent, though Jacob supposed she'd wished Charlie a good night, too.

Once Charlie was out of the room, Jacob lifted Alex up a bit, making her groan with displeasure. He shifted down along the couch until he was lying down himself, then pulled her against his chest, her head resting just underneath his chin. Stroking her hair he watched _Runaway Jury_, letting her rest.

He'd nearly fallen asleep himself when she finally said something again. "Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I'm sick." He nearly burst out laughing, but he knew better than to do that.

"I know you are," he simply said.

"Will you help me up to bed?"

"Of course." She didn't even open her eyes when he sat up with the both of them and gathered her into his arms to carry her up the stairs.

"Thank you, Jake," she said when he put her down on her mattress and pulled her blanket over her.

"You're welcome." He caressed over her flushed cheeks and she opened her eyes to look at him again. Her eyes were a little bleary and feverish.

"Will you take care of me?" She asked, smiling at him weakly.

He bent down to kiss her softly on the lips. "Always."


	6. Firsts BR BG

**This takes place after **_**Blood Rage**_**, about a month before **_**Blood Guilt**_**. **

**RATED M!**

**Chapter 06: Firsts _(Blood Rage - Blood Guilt)_**

Standing in front of the mirror on the inside of her closet door, Alex held different tops to her body, looking at the effect they had on her appearance. It was already five o'clock in the evening and Jacob would be there in an hour to pick her up for dinner.

She threw the knee-long, purple Jersey dress onto a steadily growing pile and was about to grab a dark red blouse, when she stopped. What the hell was she doing? She hadn't acted like this in… ever. Like a school girl nervous about her first date. Which, she admitted grudgingly, she technically was.

With a sigh she decided to go with tight, dark blue jeans and a slim-fitting, black halter top with a low v-neckline. Unfortunately she didn't know where Jacob wanted to go with her. She doubted he'd go for the most expensive restaurant though, so she hoped she'd be safe with her choice. After spending another half hour fretting over her hair she finally put her curls up in a casually messy bun with strands of her locks hanging around her face. Since she'd first come to Forks she'd let her hair grow out so her curls now almost reached past her shoulder blades.

She had just put on her shoes – black pumps with three-inch heels – when there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and found her breath hitching and her stomach flutter again. Jacob was wearing jeans and a light blue, long-sleeved dress shirt. It was a casual outfit, nothing special, but there was something incredibly attractive about the way the material hugged his broad shoulders and lean waist. The top three buttons of his shirt were open and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, which only added to the overall effect.

"Wow, you look…" He looked her up and down for a second. Her heart was thumping madly in her chest. "…stunning," he finished, a wide, dazzling smile spreading over his gorgeously full lips.

"So do you," she replied, closing the door behind her. It was a rather mild evening with only a few clouds in the sky and she decided she wouldn't need a coat.

They'd been a couple for three and a half months now and it was going pretty great. But they'd never been out on an actual date before and, though Alex had insisted that it wasn't necessary, Jacob wanted to take her out to dinner tonight.

Alex followed him out to his car and was slightly surprised when he opened the door for her. It was a nice gesture. "You better be careful, Jake," she warned him. "I could get used to this."

He laughed as he rounded the car and got into the driver's seat. "I'll try my best then." He started the engine and headed for Port Angeles.

They talked and laughed until they reached Port Angeles. She was already about to ask where they were going when he pulled up to a Drive Thru Restaurant called '_Frugals_'. She gaped at him. This was not what she'd expected. Fast food? Seriously?

"Trust me, okay?" he said with a grin, seeing her bewildered expression. "So, what do you want?"

Still slightly shocked she stared at the menu. "I'll take the grilled chicken sandwich."

Jacob relayed the order, getting a BBQ pork sandwich for himself. "And two strawberry-banana shakes," he added.

Alex was still somewhat disappointed when they were driving off again. Sure, she hadn't expected a fancy restaurant – hadn't wanted one – but she had expected more than fast food.

To her further surprise Jacob did not turn back home, but drove on down to the harbor. Getting out with the bag of food in one hand, he opened her door with his free one. He led her to an empty wooden dock. "This is where I thought we could eat." He looked a little worried about her reaction, but he didn't have to be.

"Wow, it's amazing." They had the most perfect view over the harbor and the city. The water was pitch black, small waves crashing against the docks. Every now and again they could watch a ship entering or leaving the harbor and in the background were the hundreds of colorful lights from Port Angeles, some reflecting in the water.

Jacob handed her the chicken sandwich and one of the milkshakes and they sat down on the dock, their feet hanging just above the water (they'd both taken off their shoes so they wouldn't lose them).

"You had me worried for a moment there," Alex admitted, smiling as she bit into her sandwich. "This tastes really good."

"Best burger place you can find around here," Jacob replied, heartily taking a bite out of his own sandwich. "I admit I kind of hoped you'd react like that. I think the initial disappointment makes this a whole lot better." She had to agree with him, though she promised herself to get back at him for playing with her like that.

"This is really incredible." And it was. The calm, beautiful setting, the astonishingly romantic atmosphere, the unexpectedly good food… it all worked extremely well together.

She could not remember if she'd ever been out on a date with a guy who'd had such an original idea. She'd been to plenty of restaurants. She'd even been on a boat once, but somehow none of it seemed to come close to this. Perhaps the company had something to do with it as well.

She looked at Jacob who'd been watching her intently. "What?"

"Nothing it's just… the way you look in the moonlight… it's…" he gave a nervous laugh. "It makes me speechless. Literally."

"Mm." She looked down at her sandwich again, hoping the moonlight wasn't bright enough to show him her blush. In that moment she realized that something between them had changed fundamentally. When that had happened she wasn't quite sure.

He was still Jacob and she was still Alex, best friends. But there was more now. Best-friend-Jacob couldn't have made her blush with a simple comment and best-friend-Alex probably didn't have him all tongue-tied.

Whatever lines there had been in their relationship, they were now completely blurred. There were no definitions. None necessary.

Her heart was beating so fast against her ribcage she was sure it would break through at any moment.

He stood up, holding his hand out for her. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"There's no music," she argued.

"So?"

Smiling, she took his hand and he pulled her onto her feet. He put his right hand on her waist and held her right hand up with his left one. Her free hand automatically came up to rest on his upper arm.

He started by making a right step forward and she followed his lead by stepping back with her left foot. They simultaneously moved their other foot to the side and pulling the other behind.

She loved the feeling of his body so close to hers. It seemed to fit hers perfectly. She loved the way she could feel the warmth of his hand on her waist through the fabric of her shirt and the tingle that went up her arm from where their hands were joined.

"I'm glad I came on this date with you," Alex admitted as they turned slowly on the dock to an imaginary slow waltz rhythm. She made a walk-around turn as he fell into the box step. Once she'd turned fully she returned to their closed position.

"Took me long enough to convince you," he replied with a grin. She had to smile back.

"I make it difficult for you sometimes, don't I?"

"Not really," he said honestly. "You can be stubborn sometimes. But you don't have any demands. Gives me a lot of space to maneuver." He turned her around again. "I could have taken you to a fancy restaurant, but I thought you'd prefer something simpler."

She nodded. It was a simple date. And it wasn't simple. This was so much more intimate than anything they could have had in a restaurant. It was just the two of them, nothing but the ocean and the city lights surrounding them. There was no pressure, no expectation. They were completely free to go as far in this relationship as they wanted and Alex realized that, for the first time in her life, she had the desire to go all the way, give him everything her heart and soul had to offer. The thought frightened her. She didn't know what to do with it.

Jacob stopped and she looked up at him. His dark brown eyes looked down at her softly. No, she did know what to do with it. Just give it to him. All her heart and soul had to offer.

Without thinking about it, she put her arms around his neck, pulling his face towards her.

They'd kissed before, naturally, but there was something intensely electrifying about this kiss as his soft lips molded against hers with a passion she felt down to her toes.

They lost themselves in that kiss. At some point Alex became aware that she was lying with her back on the wooden planks of the dock, Jacob's weight pressing down on her. Her hands had left his neck and were roaming over his arms and shoulders, down his back and up his chest.

His lips left her mouth, brushing kisses along her jaw, down her throat, over her collarbone, along the seam of her v-neckline. Her body automatically arched towards his mouth as his touch created a tingling sensation between her legs and heat coiling in her stomach. She wanted him right then and there.

She felt his hand push up her shirt just a bit, enough for him to caress a thin strip of her soft skin underneath. She moaned at the heat of his hand as it seemed to burn her exposed skin.

Her own hands wandered under his shirt, brushing over his hard abs. She felt him shiver and there was something hard pressing into her thigh. _Oh, God_, she thought as another moan escaped her.

Was this going too fast? She'd slept with boys after a much shorter time, but things were different with Jacob. He wasn't just a casual romance. She wanted to keep him for as long as he'd let her.

His mouth came back to hers in a fierce kiss. Almost forcefully he parted her lips with his tongue, sliding it into her mouth, meeting her tongue roughly.

_Oh, screw the consequences!_ With that she sat up and pulled her shirt over her head, thankful that she'd put on her black lace bra. She could hear his breath hitching as he stared at her breasts through the semi-transparent, lacey material of her bra.

Pushing her down onto her back again, he kissed her cleavage, moving down to her left breast, licking and sucking on the nipple through the fabric. She moaned loudly, feeling the heat of his mouth, squeezing her legs together tightly in an attempt to alleviate the tingling, but to no avail.

Alex arched her back a bit and reached behind her, opening the clasp of her bra. Jacob lifted his head long enough for her to shrug out of it, before he began to suck on her right nipple. She nearly cried out in pleasure when he circled the hardened nub with his tongue before tugging at it lightly with his teeth.

"Jake," she breathed. Without her needing to say anymore he raised himself up and pulled his shirt over his head. She watched in fascination as the muscles of his stomach and arms shifted underneath the dark skin. The full skin-on-skin contact that followed when he lowered himself down on top of her again made her breathless. He was so hot!

"Alex," he said huskily, "are you sure–"

She didn't let him finish, pulling him into another kiss, her hands already working on the button of his jeans. It opened and she pushed the denim over his hips.

He gasped when she stroked over the front of his boxers, touching the hard bulge there.

"I'm certain," she answered his unfinished question. He looked into her eyes for a minute or two, probably trying to find any doubts. But her body was already too damn aroused to permit her to have doubts. Not that she would have any one way or another. She'd been yearning for this man for seven months, dreaming about him night and day before they became a couple and then another three and a half months since then. She wasn't going to stop this, not when her dreams were finally becoming reality. Not to mention she was seriously deprived.

With surprising speed Jacob rid himself entirely of his jeans and pulled Alex's down as well, leaving her in her black panties.

He slowed again, looking at her, letting his fingers brush over the seam of her underwear, then trailing them down between her legs. Alex took in a sharp breath as the tips of his fingers ghosted over her entrance. Looking up at him again she could see that his eyes had turned obsidian black with his desire, a fire burning within them. He was holding back, she realized. It was that same iron will that kept his temper in check that now held him back from unleashing his animal desires on her. But she wanted him to.

She grabbed the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, receiving a strangled moan from Jacob as she lay before him, completely revealed. Spreading her legs, she moved a finger between her folds. God, she was wet!

"I want you right here, Jake," she said with a sultry voice. His body shook for a moment, like it did right before he phased and there was a hunger in his expression that suddenly made her think of Little Red Riding Hood.

His boxers were off in the next moment and she gasped at the sight of him. He was long and thick and so beautifully hard.

He moved between her legs, lying on top of her, kissing her lips, then the side of her throat. "Do you have… uh, you know, protection?"

"Don't worry," Alex assured him. "I'm on the pill." With anyone else she probably wouldn't even consider this without a condom, but Jacob was a virgin and a werewolf so she doubted he had any diseases and Alex – though she had always been careful – had herself checked shortly after ending things with her last boyfriend. Just to be on the safe side.

He kissed her again, fiercely, urgently. And then she felt the head of his erection press against her opening. She moaned at the sensation as he slid into her. He was so huge, stretching her to capacity. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pulled him in deeper, making him groan and quiver.

"Oh, shit, Alex," he hissed, his eyes shut tight and his body coming to a stand-still as he tried to regain his composure. They were both breathing heavily, their hearts pounding, Alex enjoying the feeling of him inside her. She didn't think that she'd ever had someone of his size and girth.

It took Jacob nearly five minutes, before he could open his eyes again and he started to move. He was slow, his strokes experimental. Alex used her legs to guide his thrusts a little until he found an angle and rhythm they both enjoyed.

He gained more confidence, picking up pace, stroking in and out of her with more force, pushing himself in all the way to the hilt. Alex moaned and writhed underneath his body, the pressure building in her abdomen. He leaned down and began to suck on her breast again. Her legs around his waist tightened and she pushed up to meet his thrusts.

His rhythm became faster as he neared his peak. He moaned loudly, his whole body shuddering when he came inside her, his member pulsing as his seed poured into her.

Jacob collapsed on top of her, his body still shaking, his head resting on her breast. She combed through his silky-soft hair, letting him regain his breath. She admitted that it was somewhat frustrating to have been brought so close to her orgasm, but not quite reaching it. But it was okay, she felt satisfied none the less.

After a few minutes Jacob lifted his head again, frowning slightly.

"Is everything alright?" Alex asked, a little worried that he was regretting this.

"With me yes," he answered. "More than alright. But you didn't come."

"That's fine, Jake," she assured him. "I was really close, maybe next time."

He shook his head and there was a strange gleam in his eyes. "No, this time." His mouth was first on her breasts, then sliding down her ribcage to lick the indentation of her navel and finally coming to a rest at her juicy center, where his tongue darted out to lap at the bounty there.

She nearly forgot how to breathe. In the minutes it had taken Jacob to come down from his own high, her body had calmed down as well. It took only one stroke of his tongue over her folds to restart the aching in her loins with a vengeance. With an artistry she hadn't seen coming and that had her squirming helplessly on the wooden planks, he brought her to the brink and eased her back down, took her up again and let her slide back.

She was reduced to incoherent babbling and whimpering, and at last, when he finally took her all the way home, she erupted with wild cries of unrestrained bliss. Only as she lay spent, dragging in each breath as if she'd run a marathon, did she think about other people who might have heard her. And promptly dismissed them again.

Easing himself back up her body, Jacob kissed her, going deep with his tongue, imprinting her with the taste of her own climax. It was the sexiest thing any man had ever done to her. As he plundered her mouth she felt the tightening begin again.

She wanted more. He was like a fever burning in her blood and she wouldn't be satisfied until he was buried deep inside her again.

Their slick, hot skins slid against each other. And then his new erection thrust deep inside her again, making her life complete.

Or so she thought until he started a seductive rhythm. Okay, so life wasn't totally complete yet. But if he would increase the pace a little, and shift the angle a bit, exactly like _that_, and if he'd lift her legs and tuck her ankles around his neck, and hold her hips so that she could arch against him while he stroked even faster, and faster yet, then maybe, at last, life would be… oh, dear God… yes… yes… _Yes!_ _Complete_.

She erupted in a shower of brightly colored sparks against her closed eyelids. With a low growl he drove home once more and held her tight while his body shuddered and pulsed within her.

He slid out of her, both of them panting and sweating. The cold breeze from the ocean finally registered in Alex's mind, but she still couldn't find the strength in her to care.

_Where the hell did that come from?_ she wondered, staring at Jacob, who was spread out beside her, pulling deep breaths into his lungs, the sweat on his skin glistening in the distant lights from Port Angeles.

She knew Jacob was a virgin… _had been_ a virgin. But that thing he did with his tongue between her legs and his performance at the end… dear God, that had been awesome. She was definitely in for a very crazy ride in this relationship.

"Jake, before you get the wrong idea, I hope you know that I'm not usually the type of girl to have sex on her first date." He laughed at that.

"That would probably be an awesome story for Paul if he didn't know that we've already been together for over three months. I don't think he's ever managed to get a girl to have sex with him on the first date."

"Yes, a real pity," Alex joked back…


	7. Number BR BG

**Chapter 07: Number _(Blood Rage - Blood Guilt)_**

Alex and Jacob were lying on his bed, facing each other, his fingers playing with hers absentmindedly. It had been two weeks since they'd had sex together for the first time. Alex had never had the feeling like sex actually had the power to bind two people even closer together, but then again, the sex she'd had, had never been exactly what could fall under the category '_love making_'. With Jacob it was a whole different level.

"I know for you boys it's bad to remain virgins, but I'm really glad you never got around to doing this with Bella," Alex admitted, looking down at their interlocked hands.

"Ironically so am I," he replied with a chuckle. "Though I dreamed of it plenty of times."

"What did you dream of? What kind of things does Jacob Black want to try out in the bedroom?" she asked, letting her hand trail over the hard plains of his chest.

"Oh, it's definitely not limited to the bedroom." The hand that was around her waist, trailed from her side down to her butt and gave it a squeeze.

"Anything a little more specific?"

She could see the color rising in his face and he fixed his eyes on a random spot on the ceiling. "Do you remember when I was healing from my fight with the minor demon and you told Embry we were playing bondage to get rid of him?"

"You want me to tie you up?"

He shook his head.

"Oh. _You_ want to tie _me_ up," she corrected herself with a nod. There was the all too familiar tingling feeling between her thighs at the very thought of that.

"Have you done that before?" he wanted to know.

Alex hesitated. She didn't much like talking about her former relationships and experiences. She didn't want to make him feel like some inexperienced child just because he'd waited for a special someone and she hadn't. "Yes," she finally admitted.

"What was it like?"

"It was…" She sighed. "I didn't like it."

"Oh," Jacob said, "then just forget I brought it up. We don't have to do something like that."

"No Jake, it's fine. The situation was different. I didn't trust the guy. I trust you completely." That was perfectly true. She had no problem picturing Jacob tying her up and having his way with her. She knew he wouldn't go too far and would make sure she had a good time as well. The first and so far last time she'd let someone tie her up she'd only known him for a week and had no idea what to expect. She'd been tense and a little scared at the power he had over her once she was no longer able to use her arms and legs. He'd done nothing bad to her, but it hadn't turned out to be one of her best experiences.

"How many were there?"

The dreaded question. Honestly she was surprised he'd refrained from asking it for as long as he did. She would have expected it months ago. But still, it was never a good time to dig into her unholy past.

"Does it matter?"

"No. I'm just curious." She didn't believe it. Neither did he. Numbers were always a critical subject. Particularly if one partner's count was as low as Jacob's.

Alex sat up and he followed her lead.

"They meant nothing to me. Or not as much as you anyway," she assured him and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, Lex, I know. Just spill it. Five?"

She shook her head.

"More?"

Alex nodded.

"More or less than ten?"

"More," she admitted ruefully.

"More or less than fifteen?"

Alex leaned forward, burying her face in both her palms, her elbows resting on her knees.

"Seriously?" Jacob asked shocked. "There were more than fifteen?"

"Seventeen, okay?" She finally blurted out, looking up at him. "Most of them guys."

"Am I included in that number?"

"No," she mumbled.

"Boy, you didn't miss out on anything, did you?" It came out harsher than Alex was sure Jacob had intended.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" His tone triggered her defensive mechanisms. In other words, her anger.

"I don't know," he growled. "Sounds like you could have made a pretty decent living if you'd have charged them."

Alex's jaw dropped as she stared at him. She'd expected him to take it bad, men's egos were fragile in that way, but that had been a very low blow.

Jacob's eyes grew large as he realized what he'd just said. "Oh fuck, Alex –"

She jumped up and stormed out of his room and out of his house. She could hear him right behind her. She only just reached her car when he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "Alex, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Honest."

"I think you meant exactly what you said," she snarled back. "How dare you call me a whore?"

"I didn't," he insisted. She pulled her arm out of his grasp and threw open the car door, climbing into her truck. "Alex, I swear, I didn't mean it like that."

"You know Jake, I would have expected something like this from all of those guys, but not from you."

She was seething with fury as she drove off, not even bothering to look into the rearview mirror. She knew if she did, and saw his beaten form, she would stop and turn around and right now her pride would have murdered her for that.

She was glad when she got home and Charlie's cruiser wasn't standing in front of the house. She really didn't have the nerve to talk to anyone right now. Going up to her room, she let herself fall onto her bed. It was like the sheet sucked the anger right out of her, leaving her with only her grief that had been hidden so well underneath the rage. Tears started dripping down her nose, sinking into her pillow.

Alex had never expected something like this coming from Jacob, the one person who knew more about her hardships and pain than anyone else. Did he really think she was like Miranda? Nothing but a whore who fucked everything that didn't play dead on the count of three?

* * *

><p>Jacob's fist connected with the tree so hard it formed a crater in the wood. He pulled his fist back, watching as the split skin on his knuckles knit itself back together.<p>

He'd fucked up bad this time. Why did he have to say that of all things? He could insult Alex to the moon and back and it wouldn't matter much to her, but no, he had to go for her one sore spot. He knew better than anyone how terribly scared she was of becoming like her mother.

Why did he have to ask about her number anyway? What did it matter how many had come before him as long as he was her last?

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid_, he shouted at himself in his mind, punching the tree a few more times. He scowled down at his knuckles as they healed again. He didn't want them to, he deserved the pain for what he'd done. But his body didn't care and the injuries disappeared within a few seconds, leaving no trace behind.

With a sigh he shook his head. Punching an innocent tree wasn't going to help. He had no idea if Alex could possibly forgive him for that, but he had to try. He would grovel in the dirt if he had to.

* * *

><p>Charlie frowned as he looked out the window. Alex had taken refuge in her room for the past three days, crying her eyes out. For just as long Jacob had been standing in the front yard almost around the clock.<p>

At first he'd considered grabbing his shotgun and chasing Jacob off his lawn, telling him to stay away from Alex if he couldn't keep from hurting her – because that was obviously what had happened even though neither one of them had said a word about it. But he realized that he had to stay out of it. It was hard, but he was starting to see the subtle differences; this wasn't some supernatural turmoil Bella had gone through with Cullen. This was High School drama out of the book.

Jacob hadn't left. He was still there, trying to make it better again.

And Charlie had to give the boy credit for his effort. For the past three days it had been raining out of buckets non-stop. Charlie woke up in the morning, pretty sure that somehow his house had been relocated right under the Niagara Falls over night. Jacob's shape was almost completely blurred and Charlie only saw it, because he knew to look for it.

He turned as he heard Alex coming up behind him. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she'd stopped crying. She stole a glance out of the window herself, biting her lower lip as she spotted the dark silhouette on the lawn.

"How long are you going to make him stand out there in the rain?" Charlie finally asked. "If he stays out there a few more days – and he will if you don't talk to him – he might become the first werewolf with pneumonia."

Alex sighed, squaring her shoulders and walking to the front door.

* * *

><p>Jacob turned his gaze to the front door as he heard it open and close. His heart started hammering as he recognized Alex's form coming towards him in the rain. It took barely more than a second before she was as thoroughly soaked through as he was.<p>

She came towards him until she stood right in front of him. He could see the hard set of her jaw clearly.

"Alex, I –"

Her arms flew around his neck even before he could begin to apologize. For a moment he was too surprised to react, but then he put his arms around her middle, pulling her close against him. Her body felt like a furnace against his rain-chilled skin.

"I thought you were angry with me," he said quietly. He wasn't sure if she could even hear him over the noise of the rain.

He felt her shake her head. So she had heard. "I wasn't angry, Jake," she replied, her arms tightening by a fraction. "I was hurt."

"Alex, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did." He kissed her temple. "You're nothing like your mother. You're beautiful and smart and funny and so amazing and I'm the luckiest guy in the world because I get to be with you. Please tell me I didn't mess this up beyond fixing."

She actually laughed at that. "Good God, Jake! I'm not gonna break up with you cause of something like this. If we're staying together there'll be worse to come." She pulled away a bit, to look up at him. "Arguments are part of every relationship. And I'm sorry for over-reacting. I know there were many and I wish I could make all of them undone. I wish I had known then that I would meet someone as incredible as you are, Jake. I wish I had saved myself up for someone who cared about me as much as I cared about them." Jacob knew that she'd been helplessly in love with the boy she'd lost her virginity to and that he'd cheated on her right after taking it. He could only imagine how painful that must have been for Alex.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "None of them matter. You're here with me now. That's what matters."

She smiled up at him and got on her tiptoes. He met her halfway, their lips locking in a soft, loving kiss while the rain drummed down on them.

He pulled away again, looking down at her. "You said that _most_ of them were guys…"

Alex laughed again and he joined in.

* * *

><p>Charlie smiled as he watched from the window. He couldn't make out much, but they were close enough to each other for their shadows to meld into one. He took that as a good sign. With the crisis averted he went back into the living room to his beer. Alex and Jacob could handle this just fine on their own…<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So sometimes things get rough even between these two. Okay, I totally just wrote this chapter for a make-up-in-the-rain-scene. Gotta love those, right? Send me lots of reviews. The more I get the sooner I upload again. One more short story and then it's on to Blood Guilt.<strong>


	8. Babysitting BR BG

**This story takes place sometime after **_**Blood Rage**_** and before **_**Blood Guilt**_**.**

**Chapter 08: Babysitting **_**(Blood Rage – Blood Guilt)**_

Alex answered the doorbell on the third ring. She admitted she did not expect the sight before her.

"Er… Jake, what are you doing?" she asked when he came into the house with Claire on his arms.

"I'm really sorry, Lex. I was supposed to take care of her, cause her mother is out of town for the weekend, but Quil needs me at a pack meeting," he explained, letting Claire down onto the floor. She raced off into the living room with a pink and purple backpack.

"Yeah, that doesn't quite explain what you're doing. _Here_." She was starting to have a very bad feeling about this.

"I was hoping you could take care of her. It'll only be a few hours."

"A few hours?" Alex repeated, swallowing hard. What the hell was she supposed to do with a kid? "What about Emily? Or Rachel? Or Kim? Or… _anyone_?" Why couldn't he just shoot her and be done with it? Why torture her?

"Alex, relax," he laughed, holding her by the shoulders. "She's a four-year-old, not a psychopathic killer." Alex snorted. At least she'd know what to do with the psychopathic killer. "You'll be fine."

"Yeah, but will Claire be?" she asked herself aloud, making Jacob chuckle.

"She'll be fine, too," he said and kissed her on the lips. Damn, why was there a little kid in her house? She could think of a million and one things she'd much rather do on every surface of the house, but she was pretty sure Jacob wouldn't agree to that if there was a chance Claire would walk in on them.

He pulled away. "I gotta run," he announced and turned to leave. Alex stood by the door, looking after him wistfully until he disappeared between the trees. God, she wished she could go with him.

She closed the door, leaning against it and taking a deep breath to steel herself. Pushing off the door, she went into the living room. Claire was sitting on the floor in front of the television, with two Barbie dolls and lots of dresses.

_Great_, Alex thought sarcastically. The only toys Alex had had growing up where the old, very used, and usually broken cars of the neighbor boy. His parents had taken pity on Alex and had given her the toys their son no longer wanted. Maybe that's why she'd turned into such a tomboy.

"What are you doing, Claire?" Alex asked tentatively, trying to sound nice rather than nervous.

"I have to dress Cindy and Katy for a party," the little girl answered, her eyes glowing happily. "Can you help me?"

Alex nearly answered '_Do I have to?_', but decided that would probably make Claire cry and – while the smiling, happy girl was scaring the crap out of Alex – a crying girl would probably terrify her to death. "Yeah, sure," she said instead, sitting down beside Claire. "What do I have to do?"

"Choose a dress and put it on," Claire answered in a tone that told Alex she'd just asked the dumbest question in the world.

"Right." She looked at the dresses that Claire had strewn out across the floor. _Jesus_, she thought, _what the hell are girls supposed to learn from that?_ Most of the dresses were tight and short with low cleavages. They looked too tarty even for a prostitute.

Alex chose to dress her Barbie in Capri pants and a blouse. After that she got to enact the party the Barbie dolls headed to. All the while she stole glances at the clock on the wall. But there had to be something wrong with it. There was no way Claire had only been with her for forty minutes. It must have been half a day at least.

When the Barbie dolls got home they went straight to bed. Alex nearly sighed with relief. At least this was over. Now what?

"What do you want to do now, Claire?" Alex asked, waiting for her answer with baited breath.

"Do you have an Easy-Bake Oven?"

"A what?"

"An Easy-Bake Oven," Claire repeated herself.

"Er… I have a _normal_ oven," Alex replied, not exactly sure what an Easy-Bake Oven was supposed to be.

"I want to bake some cookies, but Mommy doesn't want me to use a real oven," Claire said, looking sad.

"Well, you could make the cookie dough and all, and I'll take care of the oven," Alex suggested. Putting some ingredients together and putting the cookies in the oven wasn't too bad, she supposed. She just had to make sure Claire didn't actually eat the cookies afterwards. Alex sure as hell didn't want to be held responsible for the more-than-likely food poisoning.

"Okay," Claire said, jumping up and waiting for Alex to get up, too, so they could go into the kitchen and get started.

So far, if Claire would grow up to act according to the things she was more or less learning from her toys now she would end up baking cookies in slutty miniskirts. "Claire, I think I just found out why Quil imprinted on you," she sighed. He'd probably love that.

Standing in the kitchen, Alex realized that she had a tiny problem. She had no idea how to make cookies. She knew she would need butter, flour, sugar and eggs. Baking soda maybe?

"Er, Claire, would you wait here for a second?" Alex asked, already dashing up to her room and starting up her laptop. It took forever to start the computer and even longer for the internet to work. All the while scenarios of Claire getting hurt while Alex was away, kept running through her head. The house wasn't baby proof. What if Claire decided to go ahead and turn on the oven and burn herself? Or look around and get her hands on poisonous cleaning utensils? Or what if she tried to follow Alex and tripped on the stairs and broke her neck?

Finally she reached a website with a simple recipe for cookies and copied the instructions onto a spiral notebook, before running downstairs again. Claire was sitting at the kitchen table, looking bored, but perfectly healthy and uninjured.

"Okay," Alex said, slightly out of sorts. "Let's get baking, shall we?" She searched through the cabinets to look for the things they would need and actually found everything. She guessed that Sue had been shopping for Charlie again. God bless that woman!

After a while they had a cookie dough that actually looked like cookie dough, which, disturbingly, made Alex insanely proud of herself. Claire took care of forming the cookies on the baking sheet and Alex put the sheet in the oven. The recipe said they'd have to wait for ten minutes now.

"Can I watch some TV?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, sure," Alex said, going back into the living room with Claire and sitting down on the sofa with her, flipping through the channels to the one Claire wanted. There was something with Mickey Mouse running and Alex thought that seemed safe enough. She sunk back against the couch cushions, suddenly feeling drained. Taking care of a kid was exhausting. Claire was a great girl, but Alex just wasn't great with kids.

When the doorbell rang again about two hours later Alex could have nearly cried with happiness. After the cookies had been done she'd been forced to play with the Barbie dolls again. Claire had finally fallen asleep on the couch not quite half an hour ago.

Alex opened the door and practically jumped into Jacob's arms. "Oh, thank God you're back!"

"Whoa, Lex," he said, taking a step back to catch her flying body without tumbling to the ground. "What happened? Did Claire turn into a fire-breathing dragon, or something?" he joked.

"Worse," Alex replied. She let him go and they went into the living room. Claire was still fast asleep.

"Yeah, she looks terrifying," Jacob whispered, earning a glare from Alex. "Makes the Demon Lord pale in comparison."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Alex hissed, leading him into the kitchen where they could talk without waking Claire. Jacob was having a silent fit of laughter.

Alex had cleaned up Claire's stuff, putting the Barbie dolls and their dresses back into the backpack.

"You baked?" Jacob said suspiciously, noticing the cookies on the stove.

"Yeah."

He grabbed one of the cookies and bit into it warily. "It's actually good. Thank God at least Claire knows her way around a kitchen." Again she glared at him and he chuckled. He was finding this way too amusing for her taste.

"The baking wasn't so bad, but the Barbies…" Alex shuddered.

"I take it you never played with Barbies," Jacob observed.

"No, I played with cars." He snorted. "Besides, Barbie gives people an entirely wrong perception of women! If a woman had Barbie's figure, she'd be seven feet tall, would weigh 110 pounds, have a waist span of sixteen inches and a bust measurement of four feet! Can you imagine that?" she ranted.

"Give me a minute," Jacob replied, with a way too happy grin on his face as his eyes zoned out. She grabbed the spatula off the counter behind her and smacked him on the back of his head. He laughed again, rubbing his head though she doubted that it had really hurt him. "I'm kidding, Lex. I prefer your proportions."

"You better," she replied, grinning at him. Before she knew what was happening she found herself wrapped up in his arms and his lips molding against hers in a kiss that left her completely breathless and her heart a fluttering mess. "Promise me one thing," she said, pulling back a bit.

"Anything," he replied. She was having difficulties thinking of what she wanted him to promise. His eyes were black and fiery with want. Why again wasn't he throwing her onto the kitchen table and having his way with her?

Her gaze dropped to the pink and purple backpack. _Oh, yeah, that's why_.

"Don't ever make me babysit alone again," she finally said. He laughed once more.

"I promise," he said, swooping her up for another kiss…

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><p><strong>Leave a lot of reviews, the next chapter I upload is the first chapter of Blood Guilt and the more reviews I get, the sooner I'll upload. See you soon in Blood Guilt!<strong>


	9. Blizzard BG BP

**This story takes place some time after **_**Blood Guilt**_**. **

**Chapter 09: Blizzard _(Blood Guilt - Blood Poison)_**

Alex blew on her freezing hands, huddling deeper into the thick blanket. She was sitting alone in her dark apartment on the couch, a few candles lit around her, listening to the deafening roar of the wind outside.

Seattle had not seen a blizzard like this in years. Half the city lay in darkness. Unfortunately, the dark half of the city was the one Alex and Jacob's apartment was in. No light, no TV and – most importantly – no heating. The old landlord had tried to get the even older generator to work, but all he'd gotten out of the ancient machine were a few tired wheezes.

Worriedly she looked out at the snow that was blowing past the living room window. Jacob should have been home over an hour ago. She'd tried calling his cell phone but all the lines were dead and the cell phones had no signals.

What if something had happened to him? What if his car had crashed on the way home? Quickly she shook those thoughts out of her head as panic threatened to take over. She just wished he'd come home soon.

Alex hoped that Charlie, Billy and the others were alright. She hadn't paid much attention to the weather channel when the TV had still been running so she didn't know if this blizzard had spread all the way to Forks. And Gillian. She lived only a few blocks away with her boyfriend, whom she'd met in her first semester in her Alternative Religions class. Their phones didn't work either, but Alex knew that they were usually home and safe around this time. Then again, so was Jacob.

She got up, wrapped the blanket around herself and paced up and down on the thick carpet, glancing out the window every now and again to see that nothing in the weather had changed. She looked up at the clock above the television set. Jacob was now one and a half hours late.

_Oh God, please let him be alright_, she thought, sitting back down on the couch and taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She jumped when she heard keys being turned in the lock of their door. Getting up, she hurried over to the small hallway that led to the door to see Jacob shrugging out of his coat and shaking the snow out of his hair.

"Oh, thank God, you're alright," she nearly cried. He turned around, smiling at her apologetically.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a pile up on the Ave," he explained. Looking around the dark apartment and noticing the cloud of condensed breath in front of him, he smiled crookedly. "Guess Old Huber couldn't get the generator running."

"No, he was wondering if you could take a look at it," Alex passed on the message. The people in the house all adored Jacob for his mechanical skills. And charms.

"Yeah, I guess," he thought. "But not before tomorrow. It's too late now." He yawned wide as if to emphasize his point. Alex watched him as he stood there in nothing but his jeans and button-up shirt, looking perfectly at ease while she was huddled in her blanket and still shivering from the freezing cold. Once the city had power again she was going to have to make sure the window frames were properly isolated. Right now they were letting all the cold in.

Jacob walked up to her and put his arms around her, pulling her close to his warm chest. "How about we get to bed? I'll be able to keep you warm much better there." She couldn't help but notice a strong hint of seduction in his voice. She didn't much feel like having sex right now, but cuddling up to his warm body in bed really did sound good.

"Sounds like a plan," she replied, clenching her jaw when her teeth began chattering. He chuckled at that and led her into their bedroom. A bit unwillingly Alex unwrapped the blanket long enough to undress, lie down and crawl under it, the cold hitting every exposed body part with a vengeance.

Jacob disappeared into the living room for a moment and she knew he was blowing out the candles she'd left there. When he came back he'd already taken off his shirt, throwing it over the back of his office chair, followed by his jeans.

Alex recoiled from the cold as Jacob lifted the blanket to join her under it. Immediately she moved toward him like a moth to the flame, seeking out the warmth of his arms. It really did have its perks to have a werewolf boyfriend in times like these. His skin was so hot he could warm her better than three blankets and right now that was more than welcome.

"God, Alex, you're freezing," he noted, when she wrapped herself around him in every way she possibly could.

"I'm not a werewolf," she replied, her jaw still trembling. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, trying to get her warm with the friction.

"You're the second Swan girl that I've kept warm like this," he said quietly. Alex couldn't help but tense up at the mention of Bella.

"Did you?"

"Yeah, before the battle with the newborns," he explained. Alex gave a slow nod. He'd told her about the tent and the night in the mountains, though until now he'd neglected to mention that he'd been _in_ the tent with _her_, holding _her_, like he held Alex now.

"Wasn't Edward with her?" she thought she remembered him saying something about the vampire.

"Yeah, he sure didn't like it one bit." He laughed at the memory.

"I imagine," Alex just said, sympathizing with Edward's dislike of the situation that was playing out in her mind. She knew nothing had happened between Bella and Jacob, but that had definitely not been due to lack of interest on his part. She also knew the slight feeling of jealousy was entirely unnecessary. Jacob didn't love Bella anymore, or, at least, not the way he now loved Alex. Still, there was a tiny note of hurt in his voice whenever he mentioned Bella. Though the love was gone, the memory of the pain he'd suffered would last for the rest of his life.

Jacob chuckled again, apparently amused by her jealousy. His hand came up to rest under her chin, pushing it up until she was looking him in the face. "I definitely like this more. Here with you."

She smiled and kissed him. That was all that mattered, after all.


	10. Funeral BG BP

**This story takes place after ****_Blood Guilt_**** and half a year before ****_Blood Poison_****.**

**Chapter 10: Funeral _(Blood Guilt - Blood Poison)_**

Jacob shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He hated funerals. It didn't matter that they were burying someone he didn't particularly like. He didn't really want to be here. But he had to. For Alex's sake.

He looked over at her. She was dressed for a funeral in a black dress, shoes and a jacket, but she didn't seem to be particularly out of it. Not like her mother had just died.

The call had come last week. Much later than any of them had expected. No one had thought that Miranda would live more than a year after Alex had moved to Washington. Lieutenant Greene had contacted them with the news and the date for the funeral. His wife had taken care of all the details instead of Alex.

The Greenes were here as well and Alex was talking with her friend, Chenille, in low voices.

Alex looked over at him and gave him a small smile, before coming back to his side. "I told you, you don't have to come with me."

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you go through this on your own?" Jacob said, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. He wasn't entirely sure if the closeness was for her comfort or his. Alex didn't seem nearly as disturbed as Jacob felt.

"How about we just get out of here and get a drink?" Alex suggested.

"Are you serious?" Jacob asked in surprise. "This is your mother's funeral."

"Yeah, I know," she said with a shrug. "Let's go." She grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the street, miming to Chenille that she would call her later and nodding goodbye to Charlie.

She took him to the same bar she'd brought him to the first time they'd been in Detroit together. He'd still been hung up on Bella then. Was it really already four years ago? Time had gone by so fast.

They sat at a corner table in the shady bar, sipping on their beers. He remembered the first time he'd been here, he'd been underage and he'd constantly worried that someone would find out. Alex had been calm about it and she'd assured him that no one in this place gave a damn as long as he paid the tab. Now they were both old enough to legally enjoy a beer.

"Feeling better?" Alex asked, smiling at him.

He did feel better now that he was far away from the cemetery. Since his mother died he preferred giving funerals a wide berth. "I should be asking you that question."

"I haven't felt bad to begin with," she said, taking another sip from her bottle.

"Your mother just died," he reminded her.

"I know," she said, casually shrugging her shoulders.

"How can that leave you so cold?"

Alex sighed and put the bottle down that she'd just wanted to drink from again. "It doesn't leave me cold, Jake. It's… difficult to explain."

"Try me."

She gave another sigh. "I've spent seventeen years of my life watching my mother die a little more each day and when I left…" she hesitated, looking for the right words to express what she felt. "All these years since I left Detroit, though I didn't have to watch anymore, I still knew what her life would be like. More drugs, more men, more booze." She let her fingers trail over the condensation on her beer bottle, drawing some pattern on the glass. "That I wasn't there to help her nearly killed me at times. Every day I expected that call that she'd died. Now that it has, I'm just relieved. It's finally over, I can close that chapter of my life and Miranda can't come back to haunt me. It's like I can finally breathe freely."

Jacob sat back, staring out of the window at the blue summer sky. He supposed in a way he could understand. Her mother had been in a long process of dying for as long as Alex could think back. Now it was done. Miranda had finally succeeded in finishing herself off. Alex was rid of the burden her mother had been for years.

It was just hard for him to grasp the situation. He loved his mother still to this day and he'd give all he had for the chance to see her just one more time and if only to say goodbye. He knew Alex well. Knew that, no matter what, she loved her mother, too. The loss was painful, but Miranda's misery was over now and Alex was free of it.

"What about Charlie?" Jacob asked.

"I think he'll be fine," Alex said. "He's feeling bad about what happened to his sister, but it's not like this has come as a shock for anyone."

With a sigh Alex opened her handbag and pulled out a large yellow envelope. Jacob had seen Lieutenant Greene give it to her when they'd arrived at the funeral. "What's that?"

"Apparently my mother had a safe deposit box," Alex explained, holding up the envelope. "That's the content. I haven't opened it yet."

"You want to?" Jacob asked, seeing her indecision.

"I don't know, to be honest." She fumbled with the envelope's flap. "There are so many things in my mother's life that she's kept secret from me. I admit I'm a little scared of finding out what those things may be."

"I doubt there's much more in there than some receipts and some papers. Miranda didn't seem like the sort of person to keep a diary."

"I guess." Alex took a deep breath and opened the envelope, spilling the contents onto the table. It looked like Jacob had been right about it. There were some certificates and papers and an old passport, which, he noticed as he thumbed through it, had never been used.

"My birth certificate," Alex said as she grabbed one of the papers. "Born in Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, to Miranda Swan, nineteen, and…"

Jacob looked up from the passport when Alex suddenly halted. Her eyes had grown big as she looked down at the piece of paper. "Alex?" he asked tentatively.

Her next words were spoken so low and weakly Jacob nearly didn't catch them. "George Sexton, forty-two."


	11. Father BG BP

**This story takes place half a year before ****_Blood Poison_****.**

**Chapter 11: Father ****_(Blood Guilt - Blood Poison)_**

"Remind me again why we're following your girlfriend?" Gillian asked.

Jacob sighed, leaning his head back against the seat of Gillian's rental car.

"I just want to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," Jacob replied. He'd parked the car down the road from the grand manor house that Alex had parked in front of. He'd been worried she'd notice him, she was usually pretty alert in traffic and would have picked up a tail, but apparently her mind was somewhere else.

Ever since her mother's funeral she'd been obsessed with finding out who George Sexton was. Everyone had been shocked to find out that there was a name on Alex's birth certificate. They'd always thought that Miranda hadn't known who Alex's father had been.

Even more shocked they'd been when Alex started digging into the name. Jacob had no idea how she'd found out which George Sexton she was looking for, but he was certain that he didn't even want to know the details.

George Sexton, now 63 years old, was a member of the United States Senate. At the time of Alex's conception he'd had a skyrocketing career in politics, even being in the run for the post of Californian Governor. It wasn't a far stretch to assume that he'd had an affair with Miranda and sent her away when she'd become pregnant. A married man having an affair with a young, drug-addicted girl, getting her knocked up… that was a definite career-ender.

Now Alex was sitting in her truck in front of Sexton's summer house. They'd arranged a weekend trip to Los Angeles, just to get out of Seattle a bit, though until Alex had left the motel this morning even before the sun rose, Jacob hadn't known why she'd insisted on California. He'd woken Gillian, who'd tagged along on their trip, and followed Alex on the six hour drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento. So far Alex had yet to get out of her car.

"You think she's going to do it?" Gillian asked.

"I don't know," Jacob admitted. Under different circumstances he knew that Alex would never shy back from a confrontation, but this was the father she'd never gotten to meet.

They waited for about another hour and nothing happened.

"You should go talk to her," Gillian said, motioning towards Alex's truck. Jacob had considered that option, but wasn't very keen on finding out Alex's reaction if she discovered he'd followed her.

"I know," he sighed, slumping in his seat. Pulling himself together he got out of the car and walked up to Alex's car.

She didn't react when he opened the passenger side door and got in. She just kept staring at the front yard. There wasn't much to see there, just an immaculate lawn, a few magnolia bushes and a few scattered children's toys that no one had bothered to clean up yet.

"I really was planning to confront him," Alex said quietly. Jacob bit his bottom lip, cursing himself inwardly. He really had to stop underestimating his girlfriend. Course she'd noticed him following her.

"You still wanna go in there?" he asked.

Alex hesitated, thinking over her choices carefully. "When my mother was fighting Charlie for my guardianship, I didn't know how she could possibly get the money to pay that super lawyer of hers, Shepard. She got it from him. Probably blackmailed him to tell the world that I was his kid. He knew about me, Jake." He could see a tear spilling over her cheek. "He knew I existed. And he didn't care." She sniffed, wiping away the tears of contained sadness and anger. "I'd love to just march in there and ruin his perfect life just for that."

"Then why don't you?" He could understand that she would want to shove her existence into the bastard's face. He'd known that he had a daughter, yet not once had he bothered checking up on her or helping her out with Miranda's addiction. Alex had worked two jobs next to school to get by on the rent and scrounge together something edible. She could have used a father. But he'd been more concerned about his political career, living in his huge house with all that luxury, probably not sparing Alex one thought.

Alex's gaze fell back to the front yard. "There are toys," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Jacob said. He'd noticed them already. "So?"

"He's got a family. A wife. Kids. Grandchildren. Really young ones, by the looks of it." He still wasn't sure where she was going with this. "I really want to hurt him, Jake. His career, his life. I want him to feel just an ounce of the misery I've lived with for seventeen years."

"Then go in there and tell him who you are."

She shook her head, tears coming even harder now. The anger was gone and Jacob got a full dose of the misery she'd meant. It felt like a blow to the stomach to see her like this. "I can't." she sobbed. "No matter how much I want to hurt him, I don't have the right to ruin his family's life. They don't deserve this."

Jacob looked back towards the toys and finally understood her dilemma. As much as she wanted to destroy the man who'd abandoned her, there would be too many casualties. It would be his family who'd be hurt most. _Her family_. Her half-siblings. Her nieces or nephews. They'd be the ones who had to pay the price and Alex didn't want that.

She couldn't step into that home and drop a bomb just like that. Alex was never going to meet the man who'd fathered her and George Sexton was never going to find out what a wonderful girl he'd left to fate.

"Alex," he said quietly, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly as she cried into his shoulder. "Let's go home." He prayed to all that was holy to him that this would be the last time Alex had to cry over the two people who'd brought her into this world only to walk out on her…

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><p><strong>And up next: the first chapter of Blood Poison.<strong>


	12. Proposal BP BH

**This story takes place a few months after ****_Blood Poison_****.**

**Chapter 12: Proposal _(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

Jacob sighed heavily as he walked down the street with Alex, carrying the grocery bags. It was a Saturday, the sky over Seattle blue for once and it was finally showing that summer was on the move. And they had to go grocery shopping.

Usually he wouldn't have minded, he liked shopping with Alex and, since most of the food was for him anyway, he supposed it was only fair that he would help her, but the past two weeks had been dreadful with three final exams. He still had one to go on Monday and he would much rather be in their apartment and study into the early morning hours, living off coffee, than shopping. He was only glad that he could enjoy the semester break afterwards. Well, almost. He had to work on his Master thesis.

"Come on, Jake," Alex said. "Just one more store and we'll be done."

"Sure, sure," he replied listlessly. He knew she didn't mean to annoy him. She only had the weekends to do the shopping. Now that she worked for the Seattle Police Department as a detective in the narcotics division she was always very busy. It wasn't exactly the position she'd wanted, having been more interest in homicide investigations, but they hadn't needed anyone for that.

She turned to him, sighing. "Fine, will you take this stuff home? I'll just finish it up on my own."

"No, it's fine," he insisted, feeling bad for making things difficult for her.

"Go home, Jake," she said, smiling at him. "I know you've got an exam coming. I can take care of the rest alone." She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Okay," he said, smiling at her now. She really was the best. "Thanks."

"No, thank you for doing the rest with me," she laughed, nodding at the five heavy bags. The weight barely bothered him, but he hated those plastic handles that always cut into his hands. "I'll get some extra coffee, too."

"You're amazing. Do you know that?"

She just smiled up at him and gave him another kiss, then shooed him away, turning to cross the street.

Shaking his head in amusement he turned to head in the other direction. He hadn't gone two steps when he heard the ominous screeching of brakes, a thud and breaking glass and then another thud.

He was frozen to the spot, afraid of what he would see when he'd turn around, for what felt like hours, but was probably closer to a second or two. When he did turn around the grocery bags dropped to the floor, forgotten.

Alex was lying on the street in front of an old red Volvo with a broken windshield. The driver had gotten out, looking deathly pale from the shock. Somewhere next to him Jacob dully registered someone calling for an ambulance.

He hurried to Alex. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. Blood was trickling down her forehead. He wanted to turn her onto her back to look for more injuries, but remembered in time that moving her could cause more damage if she had any internal injuries.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," the driver said, a man Jacob guessed was somewhere in his mid-twenties, maybe a year or two older than him. "I didn't see her." He babbled on about a coffee mug that had fallen out of the halter and spilled all over the passenger seat. Jacob barely listened. He was even too shocked to be furious at the man who'd hit Alex.

The ambulance arrived with flashing lights and blaring sirens. Two paramedics jumped out of the ambulance, a man and a woman. The police followed shortly after.

"Sir, could you please step back," the woman said urgently. Jacob let her hand on his shoulder guide him a few steps back while the man was already crouching next to Alex, looking her over.

Jacob's head spun as he watched them load her onto a stretcher and then into the ambulance wagon. Only then did he snap out of his trance and he hurried forward to the door before the woman could close it.

"Wait," he yelled. "I want to come along."

"Are you family?" The woman asked indifferently.

"No, I'm–"

"Then I'm sorry, sir, you can't come with us." She didn't look particularly sorry, just stoic.

"That's my girlfriend!" Jacob yelled, anger finally setting in.

"I'm sorry, sir," she repeated. "We're bringing her to the Virginia Mason Hospital." She shut the door on him and the ambulance rushed off, leaving Jacob standing there, his arms trembling more violently than they had in over two years.

He turned back to the driver who'd caused this mess, wishing he could take his fury out on someone, but the man was already surrounded by cops. Jacob wouldn't want to be in his skin right now. Cops were very protective of their own.

"Jake," one of the officers, Eileen Vance, called, running over to him. "Oh God, Jake, I'm so sorry. How is Alex?"

"I… don't know." The anger drained out of him and for a moment the world around him turned dangerously and he wavered. He could barely breathe as the realization hit him like a truck. Alex was hurt, maybe badly.

"Come on, sit down," Eileen said kindly, grabbing his arm and guiding him to the sidewalk where she made him sit down and put his head between his knees until the spinning stopped and he'd calmed down. But how could he calm down? For all he knew Alex could be dying at this very moment.

"I'm sure she's fine. Everything will be okay," Eileen said repeatedly.

"I have to get to the hospital." Jacob said and Eileen nodded.

"I can drive you there, if you want," she offered.

"Thank you so much, Eileen."

The drive seemed endless. The downside of sitting in a police cruiser was that it slowed down traffic.

When Jacob finally reached the hospital he hurried to the front desk. "I'm looking for Alexandra Swan. She came in here a while ago. Car accident."

The nurse at the desk typed something into her computer. "Are you family?"

"She's my fiancée," Jacob lied, knowing by now where the truth would lead him.

"Ms. Swan is still in the ER, sir," the nurse answered. "If you would please take a seat and wait." He didn't want to sit down and wait. He wanted to go to the ER and look for Alex. He needed to know if she was fine. But he knew he had no choice.

It was hours later that he finally sat on a chair next to Alex's bed. She had a bandage around her head from a laceration. Aside from a few bruises and a broken rib she was fine.

He was dosing off in his chair when he heard a low moan come from her. Instantly he snapped awake and watched as her eyelids fluttered open. She blinked a few times, looking around the room before her gaze landed on him.

"Jake, what happened?" Her voice sounded scratchy and he leaned over to grab the glass of water on the nightstand, holding it so she could take a sip.

"Some idiot didn't pay attention to the road and ran you over," he answered, keeping his voice calm and trying not to let her notice his anger and worry.

"Groceries," she said, remembering it now. "So what did the doctors say?"

"Bruises and a broken rib. Otherwise you're fine. They want to keep you here till Monday, but they're not expecting any complications." He bit his bottom lip. He was glad they weren't _expecting_ anything more, but it hadn't really sounded all that reassuring when the doctor had told him. Alex seemed fine with that though.

"Guess I was lucky. Is Charlie here, too?"

"Yeah, they notified him when you came into the ER. He's downstairs in the cafeteria with Sue and Seth." He frowned.

"What's wrong, Jake?"

He hesitated, not sure if this was really how he wanted this to go. She'd accepted his promise bracelet, but that had been just a _promise_. With a sigh he sat up, taking her hand. "We have to get married," he announced.

"Do we?" she asked, her voice sounding amused.

"Yes we do."

"May I ask why?"

"Because…" he swallowed hard, still rattled from the situation he'd been in. "Because we've been together for four and a half years now, but no one gives a damn about it. I can't ride in the ambulance with you, they wouldn't have let me see you without Charlie around if I hadn't lied about you being my fiancée, they wouldn't contact me if you got hurt again and God forbid you should ever hang on life support. I couldn't even tell the doctors to turn off the annoying beeping."

She laughed at the last bit. With a little difficulty she raised her hand and rested it on his cheek. "And if anything should happen to me you wouldn't get survivors' benefits," he added.

"I'm the one with a job, remember?" she said with a smirk.

"I'm not planning on jumping in front of a truck today," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "I mean later. If you should stay at home and…" he trailed off. Children were a difficult topic. Alex wanted to have children with Jacob, but Jacob was worried he'd pass on his wolf genes and condemn his children to that fate.

Alex bit her lip, but remained silent and he was thankful she didn't choose to discuss the topic now of all times.

"This is not how I planned it, you know?" Jacob said, meaning his rather crude proposal.

"How did you plan it?"

"That's the hard part," he admitted. "I had lots of ideas, all which I knew you'd hate." Many of his ideas had involved public places like a restaurant or a ball game, but he knew Alex wouldn't like that. She hated such public proposals, because basically the woman was forced to agree or cause a scene in front of all those other people. "I wanted to propose to you on the docks in Port Angeles, where we've had our first date."

"I thought this was pretty good," she said with a smile. That didn't really surprise him. He'd known she wouldn't mind, she didn't need – nor want – anything fancy or overly romantic. He supposed giving her a good reason for marriage was helpful, too. He knew she loved him, but Alex didn't believe in the institution of marriage. Simply for the sake of their love she would have preferred living together in a domestic partnership, but certain laws and situations would simply be easier to master if they were married. "Alright, Jake, I will marry you. Under one condition."

"Anything," he blurted out, ignoring the potential danger of that condition. He was too thrilled at her acceptance.

"Tell me you also want to marry me because you love me."

"More than anything, Alex. I love you more than my own life." Her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck. She was still weak from the accident and from the morphine, but he felt the light pressure and obediently leaned forward until his lips were touching hers in a sensual, loving kiss.

When they broke apart she was beaming at him, a tear of joy rolling down the side of her face. He hadn't expected that. She was a lot happier than he'd thought her to be at the prospect of marriage.

"I would have married you anyway if you had asked me, Jake," she said, seeing his confusion.

"Yeah?"

She nodded and he kissed her again, this time longer, letting his lips mold against hers.

A cough behind him made him sit up. Charlie, Sue and Seth were back, Sue holding a wrapped-up sandwich she'd obviously brought for Jacob.

"Alex," Sue exclaimed, dropping the sandwich in Jacob's lap and throwing her arms around his fiancée. It sounded weird just thinking about it, but in a good way. "I'm so glad you're alright. You scared us all half to death."

Alex was still smiling broadly and Jacob was sure he had an identical smile on his face.

"What's with all the Cheshire Cat grins?" Seth asked, looking back and forth between them.

Jacob took Alex's hand again, holding it as they turned to Charlie in particular. "We're getting married," Alex announced. Sue let out a squeal and was wrapped around Alex's neck again.

"Seriously?" Seth asked, grinning happily when they both nodded.

"Guess that means congratulations are in order," Charlie said, hugging Alex first, then pulling Jacob into a hug as well. "Don't know how you did it," he said quietly before letting Jacob go again. Jacob chuckled, sitting back down, this time on the edge of the bed so Charlie could take the chair.

"When's the wedding going to be?" Seth asked.

"We only just got engaged," Jacob replied, shaking his head at Seth.

"We don't need a wedding anyway," Alex stated. "I think we should just go to the city clerk's office, get a marriage license and certification signed then and there and then have a nice bonfire to celebrate. I don't want anything big."

Jacob smiled at her, already having expected as much. He decided they could leave this discussion to later, but he wasn't planning on letting her get away with no wedding at all. At least something small…


	13. Wedding BP BH

**Chapter 13: Wedding _(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

"I can't believe he talked me into this nonsense," Alex huffed, biting her lower lip in nervousness.

"If you don't hold still, I will poke you," Leah snapped. She was working on the back of Alex's wedding dress. Alex had been so on edge for the past few weeks that she'd lost some weight. The result of that was that the bodice of her dress hung loose by nearly two sizes, so Leah tried to save the situation by pinning the fabric together in the back.

The chiffon and satin dress was sleeveless and slightly ruffled over her chest with a band just underneath her breasts, falling straight from thereon to the hemline that came down to the middle of her calves in the front and almost down to the floor in the back. It was simple, just the way she'd wanted it. If she dyed it, she might be able to use it again for some other occasion. Maybe shorten it around the bottom a bit more, too. Then at least she wouldn't have thrown out the money for a dress she'd only wear once in her life.

With Leah and Emily's help Alex had her wild curls straightened to soft locks, and put them up in an elegant, loose, low knotted bun. She'd refused to wear a veil.

"You really wanted to skip the wedding?" Emily asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"I just don't think it's necessary," Alex replied. Why would anyone want to waste money on something like a wedding? She'd wanted to just sign the marriage license at the city clerk's office and have a bonfire afterwards with the pack, their imprints and families. Jacob, however, insisted on a wedding, a small one at least. Alex just wanted to remember this day as the best day in her life, but all she could think about were the hectic days of planning, making calls here and there to make sure everything was in order, worrying that something might still go wrong. Not to mention afterwards when she had to smile for pictures all night until morning until her cheeks ached and her feet would kill her in these heels. There was nothing romantic about weddings!

But Jacob wanted a wedding and she would give him one and smile all night until morning for the cameras until her cheeks hurt and her feet would kill her. In exchange they'd agreed not to waste even more money on a pointless honeymoon but would visit Jacob's sister, Rebecca, and her husband in Hawaii next week instead. They didn't need an expensive hotel room on some expensive island to fuck like bunnies.

"But you have to admit," Leah said, "Jake's idea is pretty sweet."

She supposed it was. She looked at the clock. They barely had an hour left to midnight. Only Jacob could have the idea to have their wedding on their anniversary; New Year's Eve. The plan was for them to have their first kiss as a married couple on the stroke of midnight, Gillian's dad starting the fireworks then. He was definitely the more romantic one between the two of them. And he had a strange way of sweeping her up in the moment until she felt like she was in the middle of one of those sappy romance scenes in movies where the guy finally got the girl in the end. And loving it. Plus, this way they only had to remember one anniversary and since it was already a celebration they'd probably have an easier time remembering it. Not that Jacob needed reminders. He knew every anniversary. Ironically, it was Alex who tended to forget these things.

"Are you guys ready in here?" Gillian asked, coming through the door with Chenille Greene, Alex's best friend from Detroit. Her whole family had come to see the wedding.

Chenille had been the first one to point out to Alex that she was in love with Jacob when he'd come to Detroit to help her through the custody fight between Charlie and her mother. Chenille had also predicted that they would end up marrying and her first words upon arrival had been "I told you so".

"Almost," Leah replied, still working on tightening Alex's dress. "I suppose I should be glad you didn't _gain_ weight. That would have been a bit more complicated."

"Damn, Alex," Gillian said, looking at how much fabric Leah was skillfully pinning together. "That dress fit perfectly when you bought it."

"Lex always loses weight like crazy when she gets nervous," Chenille said, giggling. "It was a nightmare back in our first year in High School when she still had exam anxiety. Mom was so worried about her. She thought Alex was anorexic."

"Okay, I think I'm done," Leah said and stepped back to admire her work from a distance.

"Oh, way to go, Leah," Gillian said. "You could work as a dressmaker." That sounded like it was fine. At least now the dress didn't keep slipping down anymore.

"Alright then, we should go," Emily said, getting up with a bit of difficulty, seeing as she was eight months pregnant. Leah put her hand over her own stomach, which was still perfectly flat in her second month.

Emily and Chenille left the room, leaving Alex alone with her two bridesmaids.

Alex's stomach was turning and she felt like she was about to throw up as they walked to the Summers' living room, where the ceremony would be held. Mr. Weber, a Lutheran pastor, had agreed to perform the ceremony like he had done for her cousin already.

The guest list had remained small; the pack and their imprints, Billy, Jacob's sisters, Rebecca's husband, Alex's partner, Joy, Sue, who was sitting in the spot where usually the bride's mother sat, the Greenes and the Summers' of course. They were all sitting on folding chairs, building a center aisle up to where Mr. Weber, Jacob, Quil and Embry stood.

She could see through a slit in the door, but Jacob was just out of her view. A pity, since he was really the only one she wanted to see.

"You ready?" Charlie asked, stepping to her side. They'd wanted to make it a semi-formal occasion, so the men wore dress pants and shirts, but were not required to wear ties and jackets. Charlie was definitely glad about that.

"Will I ever be?" Alex asked and he smiled at her.

"I know you didn't want a wedding, but it makes no difference in the end," he assured her.

She took in a deep breath and nodded to her bridesmaids, signaling them to go ahead. Music started playing as Gillian walked through the door. It was a nice song though Alex didn't know it. Emily had taken care of the music choice, having done a good job of it at her own wedding.

Leah waited until Gillian was about halfway down the short aisle before following, giving Alex a thumbs-up before slipping through the door.

"Is it too late to call it all off?" Alex asked Charlie.

"Yes it is," he replied, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "I'm staying with Sue tomorrow by the way, so you'll have the house all to yourselves for your wedding… morning." She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Charlie," she said, throwing her arms around him. And she was thankful for so many things. She knew she wouldn't be standing here now if he hadn't opened up his home to her. "For everything." He was the father she'd never had and she loved him for that.

"I'd do it all over again," he said, giving her a pat on the back before leading her to the door.

The crowd turned simultaneously as Alex made her way down the aisle. She'd never been very self-conscious, but in that moment she prayed to everything that was holy to her that she wouldn't trip.

She looked up and found Jacob's gaze. He wore black dress pants, a white shirt and a black suit jacket, smiling at her like a kid at Christmas, with unparalleled love and devotion in his eyes. Alex only just managed to fight the urge to pull out of Charlie's hold on her arm, run to Jacob and kiss him with everything she had. Charlie was right. It didn't matter if they had a wedding or not. What mattered was that by tomorrow morning they would be husband and wife.

Charlie let her go and she made the final steps to stand beside Jacob in front of Mr. Weber.

They'd kept their vows and Mr. Weber's words as simple as possible, but it didn't matter because Alex barely noticed the words. She felt the warmth of Jacob's hands as he held hers, his thumb stroking lovingly over her knuckles. Her eyes travelled over to the clock for only a second.

They were in good time. She looked back at Jacob, who grinned, rolling his eyes at her.

"Let me charge you both to remember, that your future happiness is to be found in mutual consideration, patience, kindness, confidence, and affection. Jacob, it is your duty to love Alexandra as yourself, provide tender leadership, and protect her from danger. Alexandra, it is your duty to treat Jacob with respect, support him, and create a healthy, happy home. It is the duty of each of you to find the greatest joy in the company of the other; to remember that in both interest and affection, you are to be one and undivided."

Alex couldn't help but smile back at Jacob. His presence had a comforting effect on her and she was beginning to relax, letting the joy of being bound to him in marriage wash over her. There hadn't been a question about wanting a marriage. Jacob was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And aside from some legal benefits, the marriage really didn't change much between them. After all, this was their fifth anniversary and they'd been living together in their own apartment for the last four years.

Embry moved forward, holding out the rings as Mr. Weber said "The wedding ring is a symbol of eternity. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. And now as a token of your love and of your deep desire to be forever united in heart and soul, you Jacob, may place a ring on the finger of your bride."

Jacob took the ring meant for her from the little pillow in Embry's hand and slid it onto Alex's finger, holding her hand gently.

"Jacob, will you have Alexandra to be your wife, to live together as friend and mate? Will you love her as a person, respect her as an equal, sharing joy as well as sorrow, triumph as well as defeat? And keep her beside you as long as you both shall live?" Mr. Weber turned to Jacob, who beamed at Alex.

"I do."

_Oh shit_, Alex thought as she felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn't wear a lot of makeup, but she was pretty sure that her mascara was not waterproof.

Mr. Weber turned to her. "By the same token Alexandra, you may place a ring on the finger of your groom."

Her hands felt numb, but she was glad to see they didn't shake too noticeably, as she took the ring and placed it on Jacob's finger. The simple gold band gleamed brightly against his russet skin, looking like it had been meant to be there all along.

"Alexandra, will you have Jacob to be your husband, to live together as friend and mate? Will you love him as a person, respect him as an equal, sharing joy as well as sorrow, triumph as well as defeat? And keep him beside you as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." It was almost too much for her to handle. She hadn't expected this much emotion to wash over her just because of the wedding. Maybe this was why people did it. There was something about a wedding, like it had some higher meaning. It was definitely more meaningful than signing a few papers.

"We have heard your vows and your promise of faithful love. I now declare you to be husband and wife," Mr. Weber said. "You may kiss the bride."

Jacob definitely needed no telling twice. He cupped her face with both his hands and kissed her a lot more passionately than the circumstances called for, but Alex didn't care, listening to the clock strike twelve.

Around them everyone erupted in cheers, shouting congratulations to the couple and '_Happy New Years_' to others. Gillian's dad hurried outside to start the fireworks.

"So, was it that bad?" Jacob asked quietly while people were busy shaking each other's hands.

"No," Alex admitted. She looked down at her hand, watching the lamp lights reflect off her own ring. The sight seemed almost surreal. They were married now. She was Mrs. Black. She was his alone. She'd pledged herself to him in every way that she could and she had no doubt that she would do so for the rest of her life…


	14. Aloha BP BH

**Chapter 14: Aloha _(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

Jacob woke up as the early noon sun hit him square in the face. With a groan he rubbed over his tired eyes.

"That should teach us to stay at a luau till five in the morning," Alex mumbled. Jacob hadn't even noticed she was awake already.

"It was fun though," he replied, his arm around her waist pulling her a little closer and kissing her on the top of her head.

His wife. The thought alone made his stomach tingle with happiness. She'd been Alex Black for a bit over a week now and he still couldn't wrap his head around it, but the golden ring was glinting on her finger, reminding him that she was indeed his now.

They were on their honeymoon since the beginning of the week. Well, kind of honeymoon. They'd decided to visit Jacob's sister, Rebecca, and her husband, Solomon, who lived just on the outskirts of Honolulu.

"We could move here, you know," Jacob said, looking out of the window of their guest room at the blue sky and the leaves of the palm tree that was planted just to the side of the window. "I sure could get used to those hula dancers."

Alex chuckled, snuggling up to his side, her hand caressing over his chest. "Mhmm, I know what you mean. Those fire dancers got me all hot and bothered."

"On second thought," Jacob said, grinning, "maybe moving here isn't such a good idea." She laughed again. "You know, tsunamis and all."

"Tsunamis. Right." She laughed, leaned up and kissed him. He'd been kissing Alex for five years now and he knew it shouldn't feel any different now, but it did. It felt different. Maybe just because their marriage was still so new and he was just imagining things, but he didn't care, it felt just so amazing.

His hand traveled over her back, caressing over the firm curve of her backside. He nearly lost control when she moaned against his mouth.

They both jumped in surprise when there was a knock on the door. "You guys up?" Jacob heard his sister ask.

With a sigh Jacob let go of Alex, making sure that the white bed sheet covered everything essential. "Yeah, we're up," he yelled back.

Rebecca opened the door and came in, grinning broadly at the newlyweds. She was having the time of her life, dragging them to basically every attraction the island of Oahu had to offer. And there was a very substantial amount of attractions.

"So, when did you guys get home last night?" she asked. Rebecca had gone home with her husband shortly after midnight while Jacob and Alex had decided that they would stay longer. Alex hadn't had a lot to drink the other night, but Jacob had poured down one cocktail after the other. Thank God his heightened body temperature burned the alcohol out of his system much faster, otherwise he'd have the hangover of his life right now.

"We came back about…" Alex looked at the clock on her nightstand, "six and a half hours ago."

"Wow, you guys must have had a great time."

"Oh yeah, Jake's planning to divorce me for one of those hula dancers," Alex said with a yawn.

"No," he replied. "I wouldn't divorce you. I'd have her as a mistress. Then we could move to some place where I can have a whole harem of wives."

Rebecca snorted. "A harem of wives? It took you five years to get just one to agree to marry you." The women started laughing at that.

"Ouch," Jacob said, grinning himself. "And that coming from the good half of the Demon Duo."

"You haven't called us that in ages," Rebecca noted, referring to the nickname he'd used to use for Rebecca and Rachel.

"Well, I haven't seen you guys all that much in the past years, particularly not together," he explained. "So I almost forgot why I ever called you that in the first place. Thanks for the reminder."

Rebecca snickered. "Alright, I'll leave you guys to get ready. Sol's already out surfing, but I can put some breakfast out for you."

"Nah, assuming we'll be out all day, we might as well just get something to eat on the way," Jacob decided.

Rebecca nodded and walked out of the room. "Shaved ice sounds good," Alex said, sinking back to the pillow.

"Shaved ice isn't food," Jacob said, lying down by her side and pulling her into his arms. She smiled at him, turning onto her side, so she could face him better.

"I know," she said, her hands trailing over his chest. She leaned in and kissed his throat, her lips caressing over the suddenly hypersensitive skin. "But I need something to keep me cool when my husband is so…" Jacob shivered with pleasure as the tip of her tongue trailed over his earlobe, "…hot." Her voice was low and seductive and Jacob nearly forgot that they would hardly have time to take this much further. Rebecca surely had their day all planned out already.

"Great, now _I_ need something cold," he sighed. She laughed and got up, walking into the bathroom.

Just as she was about to disappear into the bathroom she turned her head towards him again, smiling alluringly. "Or you could come with me now and have something _hot_ instead."

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asked, getting up and following her into the bathroom.

He watched as she dropped the sheet she'd had draped around her and got into the shower. Looking back at him she grinned wickedly and motioned for him to come over with her finger. Well, what straight man could possibly refuse such an offer? Jacob sure as hell wasn't planning on being the first.

He'd barely stepped under the stream of hot water when he was already pulled into a deep, passionate kiss that left him completely breathless and aching for more.

"Alex, we don't really have time," he murmured. His body had a mind of its own, his hands roaming over every inch of that bombshell body of hers of their own accord. "Becky will be back any moment."

"Then I suggest you stop talking and get to it, Mr. Black," she said. She gave him one more kiss, her tongue stroking over his, her hands caressing over his chest. Suddenly she pulled back and turned to face the wall. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she bent forward, leaning against the wall and spreading her legs, giving him perfect access to her core.

"Your wish is my command, Mrs. Black." God, it felt fantastic calling her that.

Alex made a strange noise as he called her Mrs. Black, something that sounded like a cat purr that quickly turned into a moan as he pushed into her.

He set a fairly slow pace, savoring the feeling of her heat around his length, the tightness of her walls.

"Faster, Jake," she breathed. She was biting her lip to keep from crying out loud.

Jacob shoved her up against the wall, making her straighten up. As much as he loved taking her from behind like this, he very much preferred being able to wrap his arms around her as he did so.

It didn't take long for both of them to climax once he'd sped up the rhythm. He just pulled out of Alex when there was a knock on the door.

"Are you guys about done?" Rebecca called. Jacob rolled his eyes at his sister. Considering that she'd told Rachel that she and Solomon had barely made it out of bed on their honeymoon (which was so much more information about his sister than he'd ever wanted to accidentally overhear), Rebecca sure wasn't taking that into consideration for _their _plans.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a minute," Alex yelled back, grinning at Jacob.

"We still could check into a Waikiki Hotel," he proposed.

"Having seen the island from the locals' point of view, I can honestly say that there is pretty much nothing less exotic than a Waikiki Hotel," Alex replied. She quickly washed her hair, then got out, dried off and got dressed.

Jacob finished shortly after Alex and they walked out of their guest room into the bright living room. Rebecca was sitting on the couch, bouncing her knee anxiously. "Finally," she said when they came out. "You guys took forever. We have a schedule to keep up with."

She shooed them out of the house and onto the road.

It was getting dark when they finally settled down. They'd seen the Iolani Palace, the Maritime Center, the Waikiki Aquarium and the USS Arizona Memorial. Somewhere in between Rebecca had somehow managed to put some food in their stomachs. Jacob was sure she'd done it with some sort of magical ability, because he could not remember having had the time to actually eat.

Now they sat in the sand at the beach, looking out at the horizon. The sun had only just disappeared and there was still an orange shimmer where it had sunk beneath the waves, though the darkness of the night sky was quickly claiming the rest of the sun's light.

They were about two hours away from Honolulu, so there were no city lights to obscure their vision of the night sky.

"You don't see the stars like that in Seattle," Alex noted, staring up at the thousands of bright, little lights. Jacob had to agree. He'd never seen so many stars in the sky before. Back in La Push the sky was pretty much always hidden behind clouds, so there wasn't much to see there either.

Alex was sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest, his arms around her, his chin resting on her shoulder. Jacob closed his eyes, enjoying the soft lapping of waves on the shoreline, the warmth of Alex's body and the sweet mixture of her scent with the briny ocean breeze. It was almost a pity that they'd only have two weeks here. While Hawaii surely was not a place where Alex and Jacob could live permanently he could picture them being happy here for a while. On the other hand, they'd be happy anywhere in the world. As long as they were there together…


	15. LA BP BH

**The story takes place about a year after ****_Chapter 13: Aloha_****.**

**Chapter 15: LA ****_(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

When Alex came home that evening Jacob already knew that there was something on her mind. There had been for the past few days, but she'd just waved it off as unimportant. She settled down next to him on the couch, leaning against his shoulder.

They were watching a movie, but he could tell she wasn't really paying attention to it.

"Lex, honey, tell me what's wrong," he insisted. She sighed heavily and sat up straight.

"Okay, um…" She fidgeted with her hands, trying to think of the best way to approach the subject. "It's really nothing important. I'm not actually considering it or anything." She hesitated again.

"Will you just spit it out?" Jacob said with a chuckle. He was actually kind of enjoying this. It wasn't often that he got to see Alex so out of it.

"I got an offer for a job as Homicide Detective," she finally admitted.

"But that's fantastic," Jacob replied enthusiastically. "You've always wanted to go in Homicide." Personally, he could probably sleep better knowing she wasn't, but he could deal with anything as long as it made Alex happy.

"In Los Angeles." She looked at him with an almost worried expression, like she expected him to blow up at any second.

"Oh." He slumped back against the back of the couch. He hadn't expected that. Living in Seattle was one thing, it was only four hours away from home should he be needed in La Push, but Los Angeles was twenty hours away by car. He'd have to go by plane and with all the booking and waiting at the airport, it would still take forever.

"Like I said, I'm not really considering it," Alex quickly interjected. "It's too far away from your family and the pack and–"

"I think we should do it," Jacob interrupted her, smiling at her widely. Yes, it was far away, but it wasn't like they would fall off the face of the earth and Alex had been dreaming about a chance like this since long before he'd ever met her. He couldn't possibly keep her from living her dreams. The last thing he wanted was for her to look back on this in a few years and hate him for a missed opportunity. Besides, a new beginning, in a new place may be for the better and Los Angeles did have its perks.

"What?" She looked at him perplexed, not having expected this reaction.

"I think you should take the offer and we should move to LA."

"Jake, you can't be serious," she argued. "What if something were to happen to your dad or there was some serious trouble with the pack?"

"That could happen while I'm here, too," he said with a casual shrug though he admitted to himself that the thought did frighten him. Still, it was true, whether he was in Los Angeles or here in Seattle, something could happen back home and in neither case did he have a guarantee that he could make it home in time.

There was another reason why he liked the idea of going to Los Angeles. It was sunny. And sunny meant that it would be unlikely that there'd be any vampires. If he was going to have a family with Alex, he wanted to raise his children away from the danger of their wolf genes being triggered.

Alex sat next to him in stunned silence for a few minutes. "So… you really think this could work? What about your job?" After Jacob had finished his Master at the University, he'd gotten an offer to design new car concepts for automobile companies, particularly Audi.

"They have a branch office in LA, too." He watched as a smile stretched over her lips. The next thing he knew she was wrapped around his neck tightly, kissing him fiercely.

"Thank you, Jake."

"LA here we come."

Once Alex had taken the offer, things went pretty quick, within just a couple of weeks, they moved out of their apartment in Seattle and into a hotel in Los Angeles, until they'd found a new place to stay.

Their families in Washington had taken the news with very mixed feelings. Of course they'd been happy for Jacob and especially for Alex, but sad of being separated by so many miles. Alex and Jacob had to promise to continue visiting for every holiday at least.

Jacob spent his first few weeks apartment hunting, while Alex already had to go to work. She could join him on their quest on the weekends though.

Money, fortunately, was not really an issue, because Jacob's job threw off an almost indecent amount of money. Considering he'd spent basically all his life up to date worrying about money, it still took some getting used to being so limitless in their funding. He'd never have believed he'd get to this point when he'd still been in High School. Sure, dreamed of it, but not really believed in it.

It was a Saturday, a month after they'd moved to Los Angeles, that they finally found their new home. It was a sixth-floor apartment, with an amazing view over the city. It was nearly five times the size of his old home in La Push, with three bedrooms (their master bedroom, and two bedrooms currently open for guests, though Jacob hoped at least one could be used for a new family addition soon enough).

"I'm glad we did this," Alex said, as she curled up against his side in their new bed.

"So am I." He let his hand travel down her bare back, over the swell of her backside and a little down her thigh. It had taken them little over a week to christen every surface in their new home.

Alex leaned up and kissed him. "A new beginning. New opportunities. I'm looking forward to finding out where life takes us next."

"Anywhere is fine with me as long as you're there with me."


	16. Return BP BH

**This story takes place a few months after ****_Chapter 15: LA_****.**

**Chapter 16: Return ****_(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

Alex sighed heavily as she entered the empty apartment. Stepping out of the humid heat of an evening in Los Angeles into the air-conditioned rooms was always something of a blessing. She kicked off her shoes and made her way into the living room.

For the past three months turning on her laptop and checking her emails was the first thing she did when she got home from work at the LAPD.

Jacob, designing car concepts for Audi, had been given the opportunity to work in Ingolstadt, Germany for a few months. He'd fallen in love with the country; the Alps, the castles, the historic city districts and the people and while he liked Ingolstadt, it was the Bavarian capital, Munich, that had truly captured his heart. He wrote about all of it in his emails, describing everything in such minute detail Alex could almost imagine actually being there.

Since Germany was nine hours ahead of time, they rarely had the chance to talk on the phone. When Alex was at home Jacob was either at work or already asleep, and vice versa. She wished she could have gone with him, but seeing as she'd only been at her new job for a few months, taking such a long leave of absence wouldn't have come across well. Her only light in this was that Jacob's time in Europe was drawing to an end and he would return by the end of the month. She could hardly wait for him to come back to her.

Jacob grinned broadly to himself as he entered the LAPD station. He'd wanted to surprise Alex and decided to return home two weeks early. As much as he liked Germany, he just couldn't spend another day without his wife.

She was standing by the desk of her partner, Lorry Nolan, chatting with her as she filed a stack of papers. Lorry looked up and spotted him, grinning. She was about to mention something to Alex when Jacob put a finger up to his mouth to signal her to be quiet.

Alex only just put down another folder and started to turn towards him before he lifted her off her feet and planted his lips on hers. There was a second of shock in which she went rigid in his arms, but then she recognized the man kissing her and melted into his touch.

The scattering of applause and hoots from the surrounding cops had him grinning as he held her an inch off the floor. "Missed you."

She rubbed her tingling lips together. "Your aim seemed good to me." She patted his cheek, gave him that quick, wicked gleam that told him she was about to mess with him. "Now down boy. I'm working here."

"You're gonna need someone to cover for you." He wasn't going to back off easily after three months of separation.

"I'm busy, love. Why don't you go on home and wait there for me."

He just hitched her up, giving her legs a little swing so he could get his arm under them. "Alex needs you to cover for her," he said to Lorry, who was trying to stifle her laughter. "Mind?"

"Not at all," Lorry replied, smiling at a glowering Alex.

"Jake." Alex didn't struggle, bad for the image. "I have work to do here."

"And you do a damn good job of it. Thanks," he added when one of the officers held open the front door to the station for them. "I'm sure civilization won't break down without you around to uphold the law for one night."

He carried her outside. Fortunately their apartment was only a few blocks from the station. They got a few glances as he walked down the sidewalk.

"I don't like being pushed around, Jake."

"I'm not pushing you, I'm carrying you. Now where's your key?" he asked as he climbed the stairs to their sixth floor apartment. He'd left his own key at home, not needing it for three months. When she said nothing, he shrugged. "Fine. We're going to get arrested by your buddies for doing what I plan on doing out here in the hallway, but I'm game."

"It's in my left pocket."

"Good."

To her shock, he shifted her, slinging her over his shoulder as he grabbed the key from her jeans pocket. She continually underestimated his strength. And her reaction to it.

"You've dropped a couple of pounds," he commented and unlocked her door. "Good."

"I beg your pardon?" she said in her best frigid tone.

"I figure it's because you've been pining for me."

"You're going to want to get a grip, Jake," she snapped.

"Got one," he said and reached up to squeeze her butt as he kicked the door closed.

"I can't tell you how flattered I am that you'd take time out of your busy schedule and come all the way back to the States for a quickie, but I–"

"Excellent idea. It wasn't my first order of business, but why wait?" He hitched her more securely on his shoulder and headed for the bedroom.

"Jacob, you're starting to seriously irritate me now. You'd better just put me down and–"

She lost the rest – and the air in her lungs – when he flipped her onto the bed. He could see her eyes glittering dangerously behind her hair before she shoved it out of her face. And that, he thought, was perfect. After the long trip he was in the mood for the fast and the physical, the sweaty and the sexy. Luckily he always knew which buttons to push to get what he wanted.

"What the hell's gotten into you? You come marching into the office like you own it and cart me off like I'm spoils of war. If you think I'm here to scratch your itch whenever it suits you, you're about to find out different."

He merely grinned, yanked off a shoe and tossed it aside.

"Put that back on, or hobble out. Either way, I want you gone."

"This is my home, too." He pulled off the other shoe, then his shirt. Her response to that was to scramble to her knees and spit out in Detroit ghetto slang so rapid and thick he caught only about every sixth word.

"Sorry," he said in mild tones as he unbuttoned his jeans. "That was a little quick for me. Did you say I was a pig who should fry in hell, or that I should go to hell and eat fried pig?"

He was ready when she leaped, and laughing as she swiped at him. It was time for a fast tumble, fast and violent, and her clawing nails and bared teeth added the perfect punch.

She slapped, cursed and kicked. Then bucked like a wild mare when he crushed her under him on the bed and covered her snarling mouth with his in a hot, hungry kiss.

"Not what you expect from me, is it?" Breathless and randy, he tore at her blouse. "Given you too much of what you expect so far."

"Stop it. Stop it now." Her heart sprinted under his rough hand. No, it wasn't what she expected from him, any more than her electrified response to his aggressive dominance was what she expected from herself.

"Look at me." He clamped her hands on either side of her head. "Tell me you don't want me, that you don't want this. Say it and mean it, and I'll stop."

"Let go of my hands." Though her gaze remained steady, her voice shook. "You let go of my hands."

He released one. "Say it." His muscles quivered. "You want, or you don't."

She fisted a hand in his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. "_I need._"

She used her teeth, gnawing restlessly at his lips, used her legs, wrapping them around to chain him to her.

"Take me," Alex demanded. "Fast. Fast and rough."

With the speed of his wolf side he pulled her pants off, tearing the panties in the process, before he covered her body with his again. Sweat already slicked his skin and hers as she arched to him.

"Hold on," he warned, and plunged into her.

She cried out as the explosive sensation ripped through her, cried out again as he drove deeper, harder. Her nails scored down his back, pinched into his hips.

"More," she managed. "I want more."

So did he. He shoved her knees back, opened her and pounded into her.

It burned. His lungs, his heart, his loins. The ferocious heat, the unspeakable pleasure of going wild with her hazed his vision until the world was drenched with it.

Sun was beating through the windows, the mad squeak of springs as slick skin slapped rhythmically against slick skin, someone listening to their radio loudly.

And her eyes, darkened and glossy like clouds announcing a heavy storm, locked on his.

_I love you. Endlessly._

He didn't know if he spoke, or if his words simply ran a desperate loop in his brain. But he saw her eyes change, watched emotion swirl into them, blind them.

He heard her sob for breath, felt her vise around him as she came. Helpless, half mad, he shattered. And poured into her.

Out of breath, out of mind, he collapsed onto her. Beneath him she continued to quake and quiver, shuddering in the aftershocks of eruption. Then she was still.

"Can't move yet," he mumbled. He felt hollowed out, light as a husk that could be happily blown apart by the slightest breeze.

"Don't need to."

Her lips were on the side of his throat, and their movement there brought him an exquisite tenderness. A rainbow after the storm.

"Would you believe I just wanted to talk to you?"

"No."

"Did. Figured we'd get to this after. Change of plans."

He'd recovered enough to prop on his elbows and look down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and glowing. Curls of damp hair clung to her temples, spilling over the rumpled spread.

He could take her all over again.

"Pissing you off got me hot," he told her.

"Me too," she admitted, smiling at him. She laid a hand on his cheek, her thumb stroking over his skin tenderly. "Don't ever stay away that long again, love."

Jacob shook his head. He didn't think he could stand being apart from her that long again. "No, honey, never again."

It wasn't until much later that Alex remembered that she'd been off any contraceptives for the past three months. They dismissed that though. What were the chances to get pregnant from just one time without protection?


	17. Protective BP BH

**So this story takes place about a month after ****_Chapter 16: Return_****.**

**Chapter 17: Protective ****_(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

"Alex?" Charlie looked absolutely stunned when he opened the door to find his niece standing in front of it. "What are you doing here?"

"I took a few days off to visit you. Do you mind?" Alex asked, stepping past him into the house, dropping off her duffle bag in the hallway.

"No, I don't mind," Charlie replied, still shocked at the unexpected visit. He followed her into the living room once she'd taken off her jacket and shoes.

Settled onto the couch there was a rather uncomfortable silence between them. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed a little on edge.

"So, how are things in Los Angeles?" he asked, trying to bridge the silence.

About seven months ago Alex had gotten a job offer from the LAPD as a Homicide Detective, which, basically, was her dream come true. Jacob, who'd finished his Master a year previously, had been very supportive, not hesitating to move to Los Angeles with Alex. He could do his job of designing new automobile concepts for brands like Audi wherever he went.

"Fine," she said tensely. "Everything's fine." That was obviously a lie.

"And Jake? How's he doing?"

"Oh, Jake's fine, too. He… had to work." He noticed the small hesitation. Jacob had to work? Jacob could work here. Charlie had never seen Jacob skip out on a possibility to come to La Push again, especially when Alex came. And somehow Charlie had the feeling that Jacob was a touchy subject. Maybe they'd had a fight or something.

He was about to ask Alex about it when he heard the front door opening. Sue was home.

"Hey honey," Charlie called out to her. Sue had moved in with him a bit over three years ago.

"Hey Charlie," Sue replied, coming into the living room. "I'm gonna st–" Her mouth dropped open when she spotted Alex.

"Hey Sue," Alex greeted her as if her being here had been planned for weeks.

"Alex," Sue said, looking about as shocked as Charlie had felt when he'd opened the door earlier. "What a lovely surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping by for a visit," Alex answered with a shrug.

"Well, uh, then I guess I'll set an extra plate for dinner," Sue said, smiling unsurely.

Once dinner was done Alex went upstairs, tired from the long trip, while Charlie decided to help Sue clean up in the kitchen.

"Do you think there's something wrong with their marriage?" he asked her.

"Nothing they can't overcome," Sue answered confidently, smiling. "She's different, don't you think?"

"Is she?" Charlie hadn't noticed any changes in Alex.

"Yes," Sue said, nodding to herself. "Somehow softer and warmer, more radiant. You seriously haven't noticed?"

Charlie shrugged. He couldn't quite say. Alex had obviously been a little peeved about something all evening, but he thought that Sue might have a point. There'd been something in her eyes, something, yes, like Sue had said, warmer.

"Maybe married life has mellowed her," he said.

"Hmm," was Sue's only reply.

Charlie woke up very early to the ringing of the doorbell. He groaned, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"There's someone at the door," Sue murmured.

"Yeah, I heard," Charlie grumbled, rolling out of bed. He glanced at the clock. It was seven in the morning. On a Sunday. Who the hell was ringing them out of bed at seven o'clock on a Sunday morning?

He made his way down the stairs, pulling his bathrobe closed over his night clothes. The doorbell rang again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Charlie sighed.

He only just turned the doorknob when the door was already pushed open by someone extremely strong. He only just saw a tall blur pass him by, before the shouting began.

"Alex? I know you're here," Jacob yelled up the stairs.

Charlie heard the door to Alex's old room burst open, knocking into the wall with a loud bang. _Oh, this is about to get fun_, he thought.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she yelled down, standing at the top of the stairs in her top and pajama pants. Charlie quickly decided that this was not the right time to admonish anyone about use of language.

"What the fuck am I doing here?" Jacob repeated, sounding furious. "What do you think I'm doing here? You just suddenly disappear without so much as a note and you didn't think I was gonna come looking for you?"

Alex ran away? What would make her run away from Jacob?

"You were driving me insane, Jake!" she snapped at him, coming down the stairs and standing in front of him at her full height. Alex wasn't small and it would have been impressive if she'd stood in front of anyone else, but Jacob still towered over her.

"How was I driving you insane? I just–"

"Did everything for me!" Alex yelled. "The last few weeks you haven't let me do a single thing! You wouldn't even let me lift the basket of laundry and you were _always_ hovering!"

"So now it's a bad thing when I help you in the household?"

Jacob and Alex had, by now, completely forgotten that they were having an audience. They just kept yelling at each other.

"No, _helping_ me in the household is fine, but you wouldn't let me do _anything_ anymore! You gave me no space! You even came to the station, Jake! I'm a big girl, damn it, I can take care of things myself and I _want_ to take care of things myself!"

Jacob opened his mouth to reply when they suddenly heard laughter from the top of the stairs. They looked up to see Sue coming down, holding her stomach as she continued to laugh as if someone had just told her the joke of the century.

"What's so funny?" Charlie asked in astonishment. Was everyone around him going crazy?

Sue held up a finger in a gesture for them to wait for a second as she dealt with another burst of laughter. "You know, I had a suspicion last night when I saw you again, Alex, now I'm pretty sure I know what's going on with you guys," Sue announced.

Now it was Alex and Jacob's turn to look dumbfounded. "What's going on with us?" Alex repeated.

"Alex," Sue said, smiling at her warmly. "You're pregnant."

For a moment Alex just stared at Sue like she'd grown a second head, then she looked like she was about to pass out, teetering a bit. Jacob's arms immediately came up to hold her around the shoulders. It must have been a sort of reflex, because he was still completely thunderstruck. A little like Charlie felt. He was going to be a grandfather? Well, great-uncle.

"It was the way you looked last night," Sue explained. "That warm glow in your eyes. It's the typical look in a mother's eyes. You don't even have to know. Your body knows." She turned to Jake, sniggering. "But I wasn't entirely sure till Alex said how you've been behaving. I remember Emily complaining about Sam doing the exact same thing when she was pregnant. It's your natural instinct to protect your mate and baby."

Charlie could almost literally see the news starting to sink in as the young couple looked at each other with wide eyes. The emotions on their faces ranged from worry, fear, doubt, happiness, excitement and love.

Jacob's nostrils flared, like he was trying to smell something. "I think Sue's right," he finally announced. "You do smell different, Lex. Kind of…"

"Pregnant," she finished the sentence for him. Again they just stared at each other, realizing the meaning of this. They were going to become parents. There was a life growing inside Alex, one that they would be responsible for. Alex gave a laugh that teetered precariously on the edge between actual joyfulness and panicked hysterics.

There was a heavy silence in the hallway and Charlie had the feeling that the mood was just about to go downhill and erupt in alarm. He stepped up to the two of them, pulling Alex into a hug. "Congratulations," he said, putting as much jubilation and happiness into it as he possibly could. He could feel the sudden tremble as Alex began to sob and for a second he was afraid that he'd done the wrong thing, but when he pulled back he could see her smiling through the tears.

Before Charlie could blink Alex was already entangled in Jacob's arms. He couldn't tell who'd moved first, but it didn't matter. They were glued together, like he'd seen so often, their previous fight forgotten. All that mattered now was that they were about to become a little family.

"We're gonna have a baby," Jacob said, sounding a little choked up. He had his face buried in Alex's hair and Charlie had the suspicion that Jacob didn't want someone seeing him cry.

"Let's give them a moment, huh?" Sue said, putting a hand on Charlie's shoulder and giving him a light push towards the kitchen. "Coffee sounds really good right now." Charlie didn't really want to leave. His niece, who was like a second daughter to him, was going to have her first child, he wanted to be right there every step of the way, but he knew he couldn't. Their lives were in California now. Besides, this was something they had to do themselves. But if they ever needed anything, there would be family and friends here, willing to help in whatever way they could…


	18. Minivans BP BH

**Chapter 18: Minivans ****_(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

It had been about a week since Alex and Jacob had found out that they were expecting a baby. Alex admitted that she was feeling very torn over it. She was going to have to give up her job just when she finally made it to Homicide Division. On the other side, there was something about having a baby that really seemed to weld them together like nothing else could and she'd really wanted a baby, she just hadn't expected it to happen so very soon.

She placed a hand on her flat belly absentmindedly. It was an almost inconceivable thought that there was something – a small person – growing inside her. It was exciting and scary all at the same time.

"It's so weird," Alex said aloud.

Emily, who was sitting opposite her at the Uleys' kitchen table, nodded in understanding. Alex needed someone around who knew what she was going through. "I know," she said with a happy grin. "And it gets even weirder once it's big enough to move inside you."

"Hmm," was Alex's only reply. The inventor of the whole Science Fiction-genre must have been a first-time mother.

"How is Jake taking it?" Emily asked. For a long time Jacob had stated that he was not going to have any children, scared that he would pass on the wolf genes to them. He'd been very adamant in his decision and Alex had been worried that he'd be anything but pleased by the news that they were going to have a baby, that he might even ask her to abort.

But since the moment they'd received the news, Jacob had been nothing but supportive. Overexcited and a little jittery at the idea of becoming a father, but definitely looking forward to it.

Charlie had once told Alex that some people were just born to be parents. Jacob was one of those people. It was impossible to imagine Jacob's future without him being surrounded by his children. Without children, the picture just didn't seem complete and Alex had the strong feeling that Jacob wouldn't be complete without them. He needed someone to protect and dote on.

"He's handling it quite well, actually," Alex answered. "Better than me, I think."

"If he's anything like Sam he'll have the nursery in planning even before you start to show," Emily said, laughing at her own memories. Somehow, Alex could very much see Jacob acting like that. He'd actually driven up to Port Angeles this morning, saying he had to go to the library. She had the fleeting suspicion that he was reading up on babies and parenting (the suspicion really not being so much a suspicion, seeing as she'd found the old links to websites about all sorts of baby stuff, including books, on his laptop when she'd wanted to order a new DVD on amazon the other day).

"That's probably not so far off," Alex admitted with a sigh.

Alex found her husband hunched over his laptop in Charlie's living room about an hour later.

"Hey honey," she announced her return. "What are you looking up?"

"Cars," he answered distractedly.

That sounded normal enough. Jacob loved cars. He liked browsing the web for cars that they could probably never afford anyway.

Alex hung up her coat and purse, putting her car and house keys into the bowl that stood next to the phone in the hallway.

"Did you already see that new Camaro model?" she asked him, coming into the living room. "I swear I'd–" She stopped dead in her tracks when she was close enough to her husband to look over his shoulder at the laptop's screen.

"_Vans?_" she asked, completely caught off guard. He was looking at the 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT.

"Yeah," Jacob said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just thought, well, with the baby on the way, it might be time to look for a decent family car."

"A family car?" Alex repeated, aghast. "Jake, we're having _one_ baby. We _do not_ need a car the approximate size and weight of an elephant for _one baby_."

"But we might have more than one kid," Jacob argued.

"Then we can still look into this when the time comes," Alex said. "Besides, I will never, under any circumstances, become one of those soccer moms with their hideous and ridiculously huge minivans."

"You're not gonna squeeze our kids and their friends into a Ferrari," Jacob pointed out, clearly amused by her scandalized reaction. She knew he was just needling her now.

"I guess our kids won't have many friends then," she snapped angrily.

"Oh yeah, let's raise a bunch of emo kids," Jacob replied sarcastically.

With a huff Alex stomped into the kitchen, but Jacob caught up with her in the doorway, pulling her back into his arms. "I'm just kidding, Alex. Sheesh, those pregnancy hormones make you so unstable."

"They do not," she protested. "What makes me unst–" He cut off the rest of her sentence effectively with a deep kiss that turned her to puddy in his arms. That man could kiss the sanity right out of her.

"What were you saying?" he asked once he pulled back a bit, leaving her in a daze.

"No minivans."

He chuckled and picked her up bridal style, carrying her towards the stairs. She knew exactly where he was planning to take her. "You do know that it's a little late for the whole '_practice getting pregnant_' part, right?"

"Oh I know," he grinned. "But since the stories about the mood swings seem to be true, I want to find out if the stuff about a pregnant woman's increased libido is true, too."

_Oh God, it is_, she thought, kissing him as he took the stairs two at a time…


	19. Liam BP BH

**February 17, 2016**

**Chapter 19: Liam _(Blood Poison - Blood Heritage)_**

Alex sighed heavily as she tried to get up from Charlie's couch. Now at the end of her third trimester the simplest things left her breathless and sweaty. It was these moments that she wished the baby would finally come out.

Jacob and Alex had chosen to come back to Forks for the last month of Alex's pregnancy, so Charlie and Billy could be there when the baby finally decided it was time to come. So far it seemed to be in no hurry and Alex was now nearly a week past her due date.

She admitted that the pregnancy had its upsides. Jacob fulfilled her every wish uncomplainingly and, though he'd been a little uncomfortable with it at first when she'd started to show, the sex was pretty amazing. And it was just such an incredible experience to feel the baby inside her, particularly every time it moved.

Still, Alex was looking forward to holding her baby in her arms. They'd decided to wait until the baby was there to find out if it was a boy or a girl. Jacob wanted a girl, basically because he wanted to minimize all possibilities of the child later turning into a werewolf. Alex wanted a boy, because previous experiences with babysitting Claire had proven to her that she had no idea how to handle girls.

"You could have waited on the couch," Emily said as she washed the dirty dishes. Another reason why Alex had wanted to come back to Forks for the remainder of her pregnancy and the birth, was that here she could count on the help from Sue, Emily and sometimes Leah. All of them had experience with what Alex was going through and she just felt better with all these more experienced women around. The thought of going through all this all alone in California had frightened her more than she wanted to admit to Jacob. She didn't have a mother who could coach her through this, so her friends here in Forks and La Push were a Godsend. Sue had had two children, so did Emily and Leah had her second child on the way.

"Yeah, but I seriously can't sit around anymore. I feel so useless. I should be able to get a drink of water on my own."

Emily chuckled. "I know, sweetie. I felt the same way. But trust me this is the calm before the storm. Once the baby is here, there's no more sleeping or anything else for that matter."

"Then I guess I should pray that it stays in there a little longer." She rubbed over the huge swell of her stomach. It had been months since the last time she'd seen her feet.

"How is Jake handling it? Getting nervous already?" Emily wanted to know.

Jacob was terribly nervous. Before they'd left LA he'd given Gillian a key to their apartment and he literally sent her there every day to give him an audio tour of the nursery, asking her if she thought there was anything missing. Alex was pretty sure that there wasn't a single nursery in existence that was better prepared. Here in Forks, in Alex's old bedroom, they only had the essentials they would need in the short time they'd stay after the birth.

"He's… doing his best," Alex said with a smirk.

"I guess I know what that means," Emily said, laughing. She had her own werewolf husband so she had a pretty good idea what their over-protective wolf instincts meant during the pregnancy. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He drove to Port Angeles for a meeting. It's the closest you can get those company apes to Forks. They'd probably die if their smart phones ever lost signal in little olds Forks." His partners were making it hard enough for Jacob to balance his work and helping Alex out in the household. With Charlie and Sue at their respective jobs, Alex spent a lot of time alone at the house, always close to the phone, on Jacob's insistence, in case the baby suddenly came and she needed to call help.

"I sure know why I love the simple life," Emily replied. Alex nodded in understanding. Sam worked in a small family business in Port Angeles. He didn't make the money Jacob did, but in a small company like that you had a very different dynamic. There was a family feeling amongst the staff and employers and Sam had a much easier time taking time off for his wife and kids.

Alex was about to reply when unbelievable pain shot through her abdomen and up her spine. "Emily," she said worriedly once the pain subsided enough for her to talk again. "What's it feel like to be in labor?"

Emily's eyes widened as she stared down at Alex's round stomach. "How does it feel right now?"

"If I had military secrets, I'd sing like a canary."

"Shit."

_A very appropriate summary of the situation_, Alex thought, forcing herself to breathe calmly through the pain.

"Okay, you sit down, I'll get your stuff. You've packed already, right?"

"Yeah, it's the duffle bag next to the closet." The pain was easing up and she could breathe normally again. Or she would if her heart wasn't pounding like she'd just run a marathon.

_Dear God, the baby is coming!_ Suddenly all the preparation of the last couple of months seemed completely insufficient. What if they'd missed something crucial?

"Calm down, honey," Emily said. She'd just stormed back into the kitchen, dropping the duffle bag by the door. Only now did Alex notice that she'd been very close to hyperventilating.

"Emily, I'm not ready. I can't do this. I have no idea how to take care of a baby."

"Alex, listen, you'll be fine, okay? You and Jake, you two can do this!" Alex nodded, trying to believe Emily. "Okay, now get up, I'll drive you to the hospital and then we'll call Jake, Charlie, Billy and Sue."

Jacob was just finished with the meeting and was stepping out of the restaurant where he'd met with his associates when his phone rang.

He saw that it was Emily. "Yeah?"

"Jake! Jesus! Where the hell have you been, I've been trying to reach you for an hour now!"

"Guess I had no reception. What's up?" He pulled out his car keys, looking forward to getting home to Alex.

"Oh, not much," she said with a sarcastic and slightly hysteric tone. "Just your wife's gone into labor."

His keys hit the asphalt with a loud clatter. "Alex is in labor? Did you bring her to the hospital?"

"No Jake, I abandoned her out in the woods somewhere. Of course I brought her to the hospital."

"No reason for all the attitude, Emily." His fingers were shaking when he picked up his keys. He'd never had such a hard time to get them into the ignition.

"Just get here, okay? Charlie and Sue are still too busy at work and Billy has to wait for someone to pick him up."

"Can you do that once I'm there?"

"Yeah, sure. Just hurry. She needs you here." Emily cut off the conversation and Jacob floored the gas pedal, leaving the parking lot with screeching tires.

He ran down the hallway to the hospital room the nurse had pointed out to him, bursting through the door, making both Alex and Emily jump in surprise.

"God, Alex, I'm so sorry. My phone had no signal. I'm so sorry." He bent down and kissed her on the lips.

"That's fine, honey," she said with a smile. "The baby's still taking its time."

"But it's coming now? It wasn't just a false alarm?" he wanted to know. He'd heard that women could have false labor.

"No, the doctor said it's definitely coming now. But so far I've only had two contractions," Alex explained.

"Okay, I'll leave you two alone. I'll stay with Billy and keep him updated. No point dragging him here yet. It could still be hours before the baby is coming." Emily got up and wished them good luck before leaving.

"Sue's coming as soon as she can and Charlie's trying to get off early," Alex said, taking Jacob's hand and playing with his fingers, breathing deeply to calm her nerves.

This was the second birth Jacob witnessed though he didn't really want to think back to the first one. He was just glad that Alex probably wouldn't have to go through what Bella had endured with Renesmee. He didn't have a vampire around this time to save the woman he loved. But, fortunately, so far there hadn't been any complications with the births of other werewolf babies.

"It's really happening," Alex said, her voice shaking. Jacob sat down on the chair Emily had evacuated, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Everything will be fine, love," he said, trying to sound as calm as he possibly could. He was scared out of his mind, but Sam had assured him that he'd felt the same way during Coby's birth.

Her hand suddenly tightened around his and her face contorted into a grimace of pain as another contraction hit. "Oh God, this one's bad," she hissed.

"Breathe, honey. Keep breathing," he told her and she nodded, concentrating on her breathing.

Jacob wished he could spare her the pain, but there was nothing he could do. She had to endure it.

Seventeen hours of it.

But when the nurse placed the tiny bundle in Alex's tired arms, the tears she cried where tears of happiness, all the pain a quickly fading memory.

Jacob could barely keep his own tears at bay as he looked down at his baby boy's small face. He already had a tuft of black hair on his head.

"What are you going to call him?" Sue asked. She'd been the only one, aside from Jacob, who'd been in the room with Alex, standing in for her mother.

"William," Alex answered. "After Billy."

Sue nodded, smiling at the new parents. "Good name."

Jacob settled down next to Alex on the mattress of her bed, putting an arm around her and the baby. Alex was so tired, she couldn't even keep her head up anymore, leaning it against Jacob's chest. Jacob hadn't thought that it was possible to feel so much love, but in that moment it felt like his heart was expanding. Everything that meant something to him was right here in his arms.

"I'll go get the others," Sue said and got up.

"That's our little baby, Jake," Alex said quietly, caressing over the black hairs on the baby's face.

"He's perfect." He kissed her on the top of her head. "You're perfect."

Alex smiled up at him. She looked pale and more exhausted than he'd ever seen her, but also happier.

They'd been assaulted by a stampede of people. The entire pack had turned up and the nurse had given up trying to keep them back about half way down the hall. Jacob had heard her feeble attempts. Sam had even brought his kids. Coby had grown so much since Jacob had last seen him. He was eight now. His little sister Ariana was three and looked pretty tired, unsurprisingly at five in the morning.

Billy and Charlie were the first ones who got to hold little William, who, from that moment on, was forever only known as Liam. Both were beyond happy.

For Billy, it was the fifth grandchild. Rebecca and Solomon had two daughters, Tina, two years old, and Malie, one year old, but Billy didn't see them all that often. Rachel had gotten her twins, Aaron and Eliot, just last year. With only a few months of age, the twins were keeping their parents pretty busy, which was why Rachel and Paul were the only ones from the La Push pack that hadn't turned up.

Despite the fact that Liam was actually Charlie's grand-nephew, he considered him a grandchild, making it his second, though he hadn't seen Renesmee in over nine years and she'd never been officially introduced as his granddaughter.

Leah gave Jacob a huge hug, congratulating him. He tried to be careful with her big baby belly between them. It couldn't be more than a month or two before she'd have her next kid. Her daughter, Hannah, was three now and Leah was hoping for a boy, though Steve wanted another girl. "Sometimes second chances are so much better than the first, huh?"

Jacob looked over at his small family and knew Leah was right. Alex was the best thing that had ever happened to him and now she'd given him a beautiful son. In that moment he could not imagine that life could become any better nor could he imagine ever being this happy with anyone else but Alex.

"Everything is going to change now," he realized.

"Yes it does," Leah agreed, grinning broadly. "It's the best."


End file.
